The Armor of the Tempest
by DelofDani
Summary: The Ronin Warriors are still in heated battle with Talpa. Out of nowhere, a sixth armored warrior appears and joins them in the fray.
1. The Girl

Chapter 1

The girl peered out from a corner, her greasy brown hair falling in strands around her face. She checked the street, lined with empty cars, filled with the smell of rotting food from various stands throughout the city, then dashed across, ducking in between two buildings.

She ran quietly, aided by the cloth she had wrapped around her feet. For the past few weeks, ever since the gigantic building had appeared and all of the city dwellers had been abducted, she had spent all of her time moving about, trying to figure out what to do. She couldn't face off Talpa's entire army on her own.

Glancing surreptitiously down the next street, she saw a group of soldiers, clad in their green armor, marching down the road. Just a regular patrol, she decided. She waited for them to pass, then hurried out into the street, making her way to the next block. On the way, her foot hit a discarded, mangled bicycle lying in the street. She slowed and turned, watching them.

One turned and saw her instantly. He cried out and pointed, causing the other four to turn. With a great deal of clanks, they began to rush at her, their feet pounding on the asphalt.

She thought quickly. The next patrol would probably come down the adjoining street in a minute, give or take. Her heart pounding with a rush of adrenaline, she turned and ran down the street, drawing them away from where the next patrol would pass.

Then, unexpectedly, she heard a loud thump, then the sound of metal crumpling. She turned, her face betraying her surprise, and saw one of the five laying on top of a red Volvo, unmoving. The car was done for, the windshield and all the windows shattered, the top crushed. Between her and the rest of the soldiers stood four figures, clad is armor that was similar to what she'd been seeing a lot of lately. One was red, another green, and two blue, one light and the other much darker. A fifth one stood by the car, evidently the one who had dispatched the first soldier. As she watched, the orange one turned, grinning.

"Is this all the Dynasty has?"

"Don't get cocky," warned the green one. "You know this is nothing." The soldiers looked at each other, then lunged, each at a different one. A quick battle ensued, but the newcomers were easily the victors. The girl watched, her face impassive.

With the soldiers dispatched, the warriors left, one glancing briefly over his shoulder at her. She stood there for a moment, then turned and walked through the deserted city once more.

* * *

"We can't leave her," Cye argued, leaning against a building.

"Yeah, but she didn't even look afraid of those soldiers," Sage said, frowning.

"Not like they were a big deal," Kento said, grinning widely as he stretched his arms over his head.

Ryo frowned. "Cye's right, though. If she's just someone the Dynasty missed, we need to protect her. It's our job." He looked around the group, and, slowly, each agreed.

"But," Sage put in, looking uneasy, "If it is a trap… Maybe it'd be better to pretend that we're just citizens, too. At least until we can trust her."

"You mean never wear our armor?" Rowen asked, speaking for the first time. He glanced down at his protective suit.

"Just while we're around her," Sage said firmly.

Ryo nodded. "Okay. We'll hide our identities. Maybe she'll know anyway, if she is with the Dynasty. Even if she's not, we don't want her to give away our location in hopes of Talpa being merciful."

Kento snorted. "Fat chance."

Cye stretched out his arms. "That's what we'll do, then. Mia will be glad of some female company, at any rate."

Sage brushed his thick hair away from his face. "Let's go find her, then."

* * *

The girl wasn't sure how much time elapsed between the battle and the time she saw the boys approaching her. At first she tensed, thinking it was more of the Dynasty's soldiers, but she soon relaxed, standing warily.

"Hey!" one called out to her from a distance. She didn't answer, waiting. They walked right up to her, looking her up and down. "I'm Kento," one said. "These are Rowen, Cye, Ryo, and Sage," he said, gesturing to each of his friends. "We've been wandering around the city for a while… Need a place to stay? You look kind of rough."

She eyed him uneasily, not answering at first. "Don't worry," the one called Cye laughed. "We've got a couple others staying with us, too. A girl and a little boy. We're all the survivors we've found so far… Minus you, of course."

"So, what do you say?" Ryo asked, smiling at her.

She nodded briefly. "Great!" Kento exclaimed, looking cheerful. "So what's your name?"

"Daniella," she said, looking at each guy in turn, her green eyes betraying nothing. "Or Dani, if you want."

"Dani, then," Kento said, smiling. "Come on, we'll get you cleaned up."

They brought her to a nice home on the outskirts of the city, taking a yellow convertible they picked up off the street. The guys talked cheerfully, their T-shirts and jackets whipping around in the wind, but Dani said little, only shortly replying to a few questions. The five guys backed off, knowing this was a lot for her.

They entered the door to the smell of hamburgers cooking. "Mia, my hero!" Kento announced, running into the kitchen. Mia, laughing, came out, but stopped when she saw the Warriors out of their suits and the girl they brought with them.

"Hello," she said, looking at the dirty girl, who appeared to be about sixteen, a couple years younger than the guys. "I'm Mia."

"Dani," she replied.

"You hungry?"

Dani hesitated, but her clenched stomach wouldn't allow her to lie. "Yeah, a little," she admitted.

"Come on, then," Mia said heading back into the kitchen. "Then we can get you cleaned up." She looked at Ryo, searching for answers, but he just looked at her helplessly.

Dani ate quickly, starving. She watched each person, wondering who they really were. She doubted she could trust them – the Dynasty didn't leave people alone. There was no way these five guys and Mia could hide from his soldiers for this long. It was simply impossible. She couldn't help but be suspicious – it was possible that they were actually on Talpa's side. She'd have to be careful.

By the time she finished eating, Mia had dug up some clothes for her and showed her to the bathroom. "Once you get through, give me your old clothes… We may have to burn them."

Dani could accept that. She took a shower, lathering the grease from her hair. She hadn't had many chances to wash during the past few weeks – and it wasn't like she'd been out to impress Talpa's soldiers.

The clothes Mia gave her were too large, but the older girl had also provided her with a plain brown belt. Dani cinched it tightly around her waist and pulled the shirt down over the waistband. She gathered up her clothes and made sure she hadn't left a mess, then quietly opened the door and went back downstairs. Hearing voices from another room, she quietly walked that way.

"But why not tell her?" She heard Mia asking.

"Sage isn't sure she's trustworthy," Cye's voice said, sounding amused. "She could betray us."

Dani hesitated, but then stood quietly by the wall, away from the doorway.

"We're in a war here," Sage said, "and we haven't seen anybody else who escaped."

"Who are you?" A boy's voice asked from directly behind her. Stifling a shriek of surprise, she whirled, and was shocked to see a young boy in the middle of the hall, sitting on the back of a white tiger. The tiger was looking at her with what she could have sworn was suspicion. She heard people getting up in the other room, and soon the five teenagers and Mia were standing there.

"Dani," Ryo said, evidently surprised to see her standing there. "You okay?"

"Just, um, surprised," Dani said, flushing at having been caught outside the doorway. She tried to avoid looking at them, thinking quickly. It was quiet for a moment, then Mia stepped forward.

"Let me have those clothes, I'll take care of them," she said, taking them from Dani's arms. She nodded dumbly, chewing on her lip.

"Come on, Yuli, let's go play Frisbee," said Ryo, heading outside.

"Yeah!" exclaimed the child. "Come on, White Blaze!" He quickly followed Ryo.

"It's getting late," Rowen said. He glanced at Dani. "I'll show you to your room." She followed the boy, feeling the gazes of the others on her back.


	2. The Sixth Ronin

Chapter 2

A few uneasy days passed in the small house. The guys left frequently, always saying something like they were going to go play football, or get groceries, or search for more people who had escaped from Talpa, but they never invited Dani along. They usually came back injured. Once, Rowen was so hurt he could barely walk. According to Ryo, he had been climbing a flight of stairs in a department building, looking for new shoes, but they had cracked underneath him, sending him falling to the floor.

Dani could only pretend to believe them. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew that almost everything they told her was a lie. She didn't leave, though, because she wanted more information. And since they told her nothing, that would have to involve spying.

She felt kind of bad about it, since they had taken her in, but she shook those feelings off. She had to know what the group was up to, and why they were being so secretive.

One night, four days after they had brought her to their home, she was still lying awake when her clock read 11:58, throwing ideas around in her mind. She heard a creak from the next room and sat up quietly, listening. She heard the person – Cye, she knew – get up and walk quietly across the room, open his door, and walk downstairs. Dani hesitated for just a moment, then quietly eased out from under her blankets and crept to her door, opening it a crack. A light was on downstairs, and, as she looked down the hall, she saw that every door hung open, even the one that Mia shared with Yuli. Tiptoeing, she looked into each room. Six of the seven beds were empty – only Yuli was asleep, curled up in a tiny ball.

Heart pounding, Dani moved as slowly as possible to the stairwell, kneeling there so that she could hear the conversation from the living room.

"They're gathering forces by the old Rewter building," Sage's voice was saying, carrying clearly.

"We'll have to attack tomorrow," Ryo said grimly.

"Tomorrow?" Rowen asked. "Tomorrow may be too late."

"Now?" Kento asked, sounding eager. "All right! Let's kick some Dynasty butt!"

"More forces could arrive by tomorrow," Cye agreed. "We have to take them out now, before they grow too strong."

Dani listened intently, not wanting to miss a word.

"What about the girl?" Sage asked.

"What about her?" Ryo's voice inquired.

"Can we trust her or not?"

Kento sighed. "She was listening at the door that day."

"We don't know that," Rowen put in.

"It looked pretty suspicious to me," Sage replied grimly.

"She's just a girl… And she's asleep now, I checked," Mia said. Dani grimaced, thinking of when Mia had peeked into her room hours before. She had pretended to be asleep, not wanting to talk to the other girl.

"And, besides, if she does try to betray us," Kento said, "it's not like she'll be hard to beat. She's just a skinny girl, and we're the Ronin Warriors."

Shock froze Dani for a moment. The Ronin Warriors! Of course! She mentally slapped herself for being so stupid. She had only seen them once before, when they defeated those five soldiers, but she should have realized their identities long before now. She shook her head at the irony of the situation.

"Fine. Then let's go," Sage said. Chairs scraped against the tile floor.

Dani silently moved back to her room, shutting the door.

* * *

Sage looked across the mass of soldiers, slow letting out a long breath. "Well…" He said, holding his large sword over his shoulder, "Think we can take them?" They stood atop the Rewter building, looking down at the encampment.

"We have the element of surprise," Cye said grimly. He glanced at Ryo, "Ready?"

"We're going to have to be," their leader replied, unsheathing his two katanas.

Already in their armor, the band was formidable. Even so, the army they faced had numbers well in the hundreds.

"Would it help if I pointed out that this is only a fraction of Talpa's forces?" Kento asked.

"No," replied Sage dryly. "Well… let's go." Together, the five moved to the base of the building to fight.

Before the alarm was sounded, they managed to defeat a few dozen. Once the rest awoke, however, the fight became brutal. Each Ronin was separated, battling for their lives. Sage clenched his teeth together, swinging his weapon almost at random. Two faceless soldiers ran at him, and he leapt forward, kicking one squarely in the chest while he hit the other with his sword. For every one he dispatched, five more would appear, crowding him, intent on ending his life.

"Need help, bud?" Rowen called out from beside him, yelling over the clamor of the battle.

"A lot more than you can give!" Sage yelled back, goading him even in the dark hour.

"Oh, I don't know," Rowen replied, "Even as wimpy as you are, my incredible skill could still save your butt!"

Sage laughed, but knew that Rowen was growing just as anxious as he was. It was looking grim.

"Good thing we didn't wait for tomorrow!" Sage muttered grimly. Just as he raised his sword to hit yet another one of Talpa's troopers, the soldier he was fighting collapsed to the ground, never to move again. He glanced up to thank Rowen quickly, but found Rowen nowhere to be seen. Instead, an unfamiliar armor stood before him. It was colored in a purple so deep that it was nearly black, styled in the same manner as the other Ronins, but he had never seen it before. The wearer carried a thick, heavy sword, much like Sage's, but also carried a bow and arrow on his back. The face plate was shut, revealing only a pair of deep green eyes. They met his for a second, but then the wearer of the dark armor was swinging his sword at a trooper nearby.

Sage had no time to speak to the unknown warrior and demand his identity, but he was fairly certain, seeing as how he was killing Talpa's soldiers, that he was on the side of the Ronins. After the entrance of the sixth warrior, it didn't take long to defeat the army. Sage saw him every once in a while, vigorously battling, his sword shining with power.

The six were left amidst the carnage, five of them staring curiously at the sixth. "Dude… You rock!" Kento exclaimed, pushing back his armor's face guard. "But… Who are you?"

The area around the newcomer's eyes crinkled, revealing his smile. "I wish I knew," he said. Then he turned and ran off, leaping between the buildings.

"Wait!" Ryo yelled after him, but to no avail. The sixth Ronin was gone.

* * *

The Ronins and Mia were up for what remained of the night, researching the ancient legend, trying to find a clue to the identity of the sixth armor. Mia went through all of her grandfather's old notes, trying to read the nearly illegible handwriting. Finally, as the sun was beginning to shine through the windows, she found it. Eagerly, she began to read the account her grandfather had left behind.

 _Some accounts I have found speak of a tenth piece of the original armor. This piece was broken off in battle, which lay where it fell amidst the desolation. With this piece missing, the rest of the armor was weakened, which in turned led to it shattering into the other nine pieces._

 _This piece, if it exists, is being called the Armor of Tempest. It is unknown with which side this armor would affiliate – the Ronins or the Dynasty._

"Look at this!" she exclaimed, squinting at the shaky handwriting. She quickly read the passage out loud to her friends.

Cye sighed, sprawling on the couch. "But why didn't we know about it before? And why is he just now appearing?"

"I don't know… I don't even know if Grandfather's theory is correct," Mia replied. "But that's all we have now."

"How do we even know this guy is on our side?" Rowen asked.

"Um, well, he helped us defeat Talpa's troops," Kento pointed out, rubbing one eye tiredly.

"It could be a trick," Ryo said. "After all, the legend says that he could be batting for either team.

"Or not," said Sage. "I think he's for real."

"He didn't hang around, though," Ryo argued, pushing his dark hair back.

"Maybe he doesn't trust us, either."

Ryo pursed his lips, but could understand the logic. Mia looked around at the exhausted warriors.

"You guys need to get to bed… And power down before Dani wakes up," she said. The boys nodded, and, one by one, their suits vanished, revealing rumpled clothes underneath them. They all trudged up the stairs, collapsing in their respective beds.

Dani awoke to find Mia alone in the living room, sifting through a mountain of papers. "Where is everyone?" she asked, though she had walked past their open doors, seeing them asleep.

"Oh… Sleeping in," Mia said, glancing up quickly. She started to gather up the papers. Dani sat down in a chair nearby, pulling her legs up to sit cross-legged.

Dani was quiet for a moment. "You can trust me, you know." Mia looked up quickly, nervously adjusting the papers in a neat stack.

"Who says we don't trust you?" Dani raised an eyebrow and looked at her for a moment. Mia sighed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sorry. But it's a dark world these days."

Dani nodded, standing up. "Yeah. I know." She walked out of the room and stepped out into the light of the sun.

Mia looked down at the top paper, where her grandfather had scribbled something in the margins and circled it. "Armor of Tempest," she murmured to herself. She chewed thoughtfully on her lip for a moment, rereading the legend her grandfather had written of, then picked up the stack and placed on the bookshelf, hiding it behind a dusty set of volumes. "It could make or break this war…"


	3. Suspicion

Chapter 3

Over the next few days, the Ronins were pitted against Talpa's troops so frequently that they hardly had time to rest. They kept finding more groups of soldiers at an outpost and would attack. Once, Rowen was caught off guard while on a reconnaissance mission, nearly getting himself killed.

On most of those occasions, the mysterious dark warrior joined them in battle, helping them wipe out Talpa's army. He rarely said much, even when they tried to speak to him after the battles.

"Please," Cye said one time. "Come stay with us. We can help each other. You can trust us."

"Do you trust me?" the mysterious warrior queried, standing aloof from the others.

"After all you've helped us? Of course!"

The dark purple warrior shook his head. Never once had he removed the face guard. Ryo sighed, removing his heavy armor. He pushed back his sweaty hair. "Whenever you decide to join us, we'll be here," he said, understanding the expression in the warrior's eyes.

"I thank you," he said, his voice as muffled as ever through the face guard. He turned and left quickly.

Kento sat down heavily. "What's his deal?" he complained. "We're all Ronins. We're on the same side."

"He's a loner," Sage said with a shrug. "I can understand that."

When they got home, they found Mia and Yuli sitting at the table. White Blaze, who Ryo had instructed to protect them, was sprawled by the wall, purring faintly.

"You're making my tiger fat," Ryo teased, sitting at the table.

"Am not!" Yuli yelled. "And if we were, if you'd let us go with you and fight, he'd work out, too!"

"Hush, Yuli," Mia said, frowning at him. "Dani's upstairs."

"Oh, yeah," Yuli said glumly. "Why d'we have to make everything a secret now? It wasn't a secret before!"

"Maybe we can tell her eventually," Rowen said, sitting down and propping his feet up in another chair. He picked up an apple and tossed it up into the air, catching it deftly before taking a bite.

"I don't know," Mia said, looking troubled. "She has seemed even more distant lately… Ever since these attacks started. I'm afraid you may have been right in the beginning, Sage. She may be working for Talpa and the Warlords."

Sage frowned. "Are you sure?"

"No."

"Well, wait until you're sure," he said, looking annoyed. He left the room. Soon, the others could hear his feet pounding against the stairs.

"Whoa… What's his deal?" Kento asked curiously.

"Not sure," Cye said. Mia sighed.

"He's just tired. You all are."

Ryo nodded, glancing around at his comrades. The stress of battle was beginning to wear on them all, he could easily see. However, he knew that his friends would never give up, even when faced with death.

Yuli jumped up, standing in a chair. "You guys can rest, and I'll fight Talpa!" He exclaimed proudly. He made fists with his small fingers, punching an unseen enemy in the air. "Take that, Sekhmet! You're going down, Kael!" Mia smiled, then reached over and held his small hands in hers.

"Maybe you'll get your chance someday, Yuli," she said, looking at him lovingly. "But not just yet, okay?"

"Awww," he complained, plopping back down. "White Blaze and I could take Talpa." He looked over at the tiger. "Right?"

White Blaze looked up and growled an affirmative. Ryo chuckled. "All right, buddy, calm down. We're doing fine."

Rowen nodded, finishing off his apple. "We kick Talpa butt."

Kento opened his mouth to say something, but stopped abruptly. They could hear someone coming down the stairs, sounding lighter than Sage. Dani walked in, then looked around.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously. She looked like she'd just stepped out of the shower, her hair wet, and her clothes were rumpled. She pretended not to notice how sweaty the four Ronins in the room appeared, standing in the doorway.

"We're just sitting around talking," Rowen said. "Want an apple?" She shrugged.

"Sure." He tossed her one, and she caught it easily.

Mia frowned, watching her. "Dani… What's that on your arm?" The younger girl paused.

"What?" Mia walked over, and, with the others watching, grabbed her left arm and turned it slightly. On the underside of her forearm, a nasty looking cut stretched from halfway to her wrist to almost her elbow.

"How did you get this?" Mia demanded.

"Oh, that… I fell down outside," Dani replied. "When I was taking a walk this morning."

"When did you take a walk?"

"This morning." Kento snickered, but was quickly silenced by a look from Mia.

"I don't recall you leaving."

"Sorry… You weren't awake. I didn't want to disturb you."

"You were up that early?"

"I woke up pretty early and couldn't get back to sleep."

Mia looked at her suspiciously, but released her arm. "I'm sorry, Mia," the girl said, looking truly so. "If it's a problem, I won't go for anymore walks."

"It's probably better," Mia said, sounding guarded. "At least for now. Too much danger out there."

"Are you sure?" Dani asked, looking at her searchingly. "I heard that the Ronin Warriors are out there protecting us… Otherwise, I'm sure Talpa would have found us by now."

She had everyone's attention by now.

"What do you know about the Ronin Warriors?" Ryo asked, looking at her with suspicion to match Mia's.

"Not much," she said, looking directly at him. "Just that they want to defeat Talpa."

He nodded slightly, then turned away.

The room remained tense, nobody speaking for a long moment. Finally, Yuli jumped up. "White Blaze and I are going to go outside," he announced, dashing from the room.

"Well, eat your apple," Rowen said, looking at Dani. She nodded, looking at the forgotten apple. She rolled it between her hands, her appetite gone. Ryo left the room, and, after raiding the refrigerator, Kento did as well.

The day passed slowly, though the tension began to ease. Even so, everywhere Dani looked, she saw suspicious eyes watching her. Unable to handle it, she retreated to her room, sitting on the bed with her head in her hands.

After a time, a knock came at her door, and then, without further invitation, Sage opened the door and stepped inside. Dani looked up and frowned slightly. "You want to interrogate me too?" she demanded, sick of it.

"No," Sage said simply, pulling a chair next to her bed. She stared at him.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," he said. He showed her a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a cotton swab, and a long bandage. "I thought somebody should help you clean your wound." Dani looked at him curiously.

"I can do it myself."

"But I didn't think you would. You haven't yet, have you?"

She blew a strand of hair away from her face. "No," she admitted quietly.

"Okay, then. Give me your arm." She paused, then obediently stretched out her left arm. He gently held her wrist and turned her arm over, then winced. "Ouch. It's worse than Mia said."

Dani shrugged slightly, looking away. "I fell."

"I heard," he replied, sounding skeptical. He soaked the cotton swab, then gently dabbed it on her wound. She bit her lip slightly as it fizzed fiercely in her wound.

"Why are you doing this?" Dani asked after a moment of silence. "You don't trust me."

He glanced at her. "I have no reason not to trust you."

"But you still don't."

He shrugged. "True. But I still don't want to be the one who has to amputate your arm." She flinched at that idea. He smiled slightly, gently wrapping the gauze around her arm. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. I promise."

She looked at him. "Do you, now?"

He met her eyes for a moment, then had to look away. "That's what I thought," she muttered. He glanced up once more.

"Are you afraid?"

"Of what?"

"Talpa."

"Are you going to try and tell me that you're not?"

"No."

"Of course I am. Look outside!" She gestured to the window, where Talpa's palace towered, easily a mile above the highest tower in the city. "He's kidnapped almost everyone in the city, killed so many. It's only a matter of time."

"Until what?"

"Until the end."

"Of the world, you mean?"

"Of our world as we know it, at least."

Sage sighed, staring mulishly out the window. "Maybe he can be stopped."

"Maybe," Dani replied, looking directly at him. Her gaze was firm, almost fierce.

"What do you think?" he asked her, looking towards her once more. "You think the Ronin Warriors can stop him?"

"I think they could, if they believed in one another," she replied, speaking quietly. He looked surprised.

"What makes you think they don't?"

"I didn't say I didn't."

"So you think they'll defeat Talpa?"

"With any luck."

"That's not what you said before."

She laughed quietly, looking at him with a faint smile. "Why so curious, Sage?" Even as she smiled, her eyes remained sad.

He shrugged. "Well, with the world as we know it at stake… It's something to talk about."

She nodded once more. Feeling uncomfortable, he stood up, picking up the rest of the gauze, the peroxide, and the used cotton swab. "Well… I'm sure your arm will heal nicely now," he said, sounding awkward. She looked at the white gauze covering half her arm.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Not a problem." He turned and left, shutting the door behind him. She stared after him for a moment, gently running a finger over the gauze on her arm.


	4. Virtue of Love

Chapter 4

The next night, the five Ronin Warriors were ambushed by Dais and a squad of twenty five soldiers. It was a hairy fight, with Dais taunting them throughout it. When the mysterious warrior showed up only a minute into the battle, though, even Dais was silenced by the shock. Everyone who had seen the purple warrior before hadn't lived to warn Talpa and the Warlords of the new enemy.

As usual, Dais turned and ran as saw as he saw that the Ronins were going to win the battle, leaving the six warriors to finish off the rest of his squad. It didn't take too long, the fight leaving the soldiers after Dais ran. Seeing that they had no hope, several of them turned and went the way of the Warlord they served.

The five original Ronins stood around, watching the dark warrior. "We owe you our thanks, again," Cye said, smiling at him. The warrior shrugged.

"No need to thank me for carrying out the duty we share," he replied.

Sage frowned slightly, looking thoughtful, but said nothing.

"I suppose this is where you leave us once again?" Ryo asked. The unknown Ronin nodded, sheathing his thick sword. He turned and left.

"So… Does he follow us around?" Kento asked. "I mean… He always shows up as soon as we get into a fight."

"I guess so," Rowen replied.

"How does he always find us?"

"Maybe he has figured out where we're staying."

Sage sighed. "Maybe… It's getting to be morning." He looked towards the sun. "Mia will be worried, I'm sure."

They headed back to their cottage, powering down to civilian clothes when they got close.

When they entered, they were greeted by the sight of Mia holding Dani tightly by the hair, yelling at her. White Blaze crouched in front of Dani, growling fiercely. Mia turned swiftly as soon as they entered. "I caught – What happened?" She exclaimed as she saw how beat up the guys were.

"Ambushed," said Ryo shortly, staring. "What's going on?"

"Ambushed?" Mia demanded, her voice going higher than they had ever heard it before. "I'm sure you have this girl to blame!" She shook Dani by the hair. Dani wasn't trying to fight her, not even trying to pull away. "I caught her sneaking in her window! She was probably telling Talpa everything she knew about us!"

Ryo stared at Dani, searching for answers. Dani said nothing to defend herself. "Did you betray us?" he demanded, no longer worrying about hiding their identities. It looked to be a little bit late for that. When she didn't answer, he tried again. "Where were you? What's your excuse?"

"Outside falling again?" put in Rowen. As little as he liked it, it didn't look good for the teenage girl. She hadn't done anything to prove her loyalty, and sneaking around the night they were ambushed wasn't helping.

Mia was in a state that they had never seen her in before. She was always the calmer one, the one with the ideas. Now, though, she was almost in a panic, freaking out over a girl.

Sage looked long and hard at Dani, but could find no excuse for her sneaking around like that. "Well, Ryo?" he asked quietly. "What are we going to do?" Dani looked at him searchingly, but he turned his eyes away from her.

Yuli appeared at the top of the stairs. "What's going on?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. Nobody answered, their eyes trained on the girl before them.

"We don't have much of a choice," Ryo said quietly. He looked directly at Dani. "We had no reason to trust you, but we brought you in, anyway. We took care of you. And now, it appears that you have betrayed us to our enemies. Which makes you one of them." He looked at Mia. "Let her go." Mia did so, taking a step back. He looked back to Dani, who had the audacity to stand up straight, looking him in the eye as he spoke. It was slightly unnerving. "I don't want to kill you," he said to her, his voice harsh. Everyone else was silent. "But if we ever see you again, we may have to." He stepped aside, clearly indicating for her to leave. She looked at him for a long moment, straightened her hair where Mia was mussed it, then walked past them. She paused by Sage.

"So much for your promise," she murmured. Sage didn't answer, not even looking at her. She glanced him over once last time, then walked out the door. The screen door slammed against the frame once, bounced back, then finally settled into place.

At the top of the stairwell, Yuli began to cry. Mia looked around the room, but said nothing. Not even 'I told you so.' She hurried up the stairs to comfort Yuli while the Ronin Warriors looked at one another.

"We'll have to move," Cye said quietly. He turned to the wearer of the Armor of Halo. "Sage… You were right the whole time," he admitted. "Sorry I didn't believe you."

"I wish I hadn't been," Sage muttered.

Ryo shook his head. "I wanted to trust her, too." He looked around the room. "This means that we can't trust anybody."

Sage let out a breath, but nodded his agreement.

* * *

Within a few hours, they had found somewhere else to stay. The seven moved, taking their few possessions with them. The place they stayed in now was nowhere near as nice, but much more secret, and still set off from the city's center, where Talpa's palace rose. It was an apartment complex – the best they could find inside the city itself. There were too many of them for just one apartment, so they split up into two that were across from each other. Sage, Kento, and Rowen moved into one, while Ryo, Cye, Mia, and Yuli moved into the other.

"Will the other Ronin be able to find us?" Yuli asked, sounding scared.

"Yes," Mia said softly. "I'm sure he's watching even now, waiting to join our Ronins in battle again."

"Will he keep them safe?" To Yuli, a sixth Ronin seemed almost godlike.

"They'll keep each other safe," Mia told him. "Even with traitors and spies hanging around." Yuli looked at her, hearing the bitterness in her voice, but said nothing, just reached up and took her hand. She glanced down and smiled at him briefly. "Come on, now," she said. "Help me clean this place up… It's so dusty."

* * *

A few days passed, during which the Warriors saw little activity from Talpa's men.

"Maybe he's running short on soldiers," Kento suggested. "We have killed so many in the past week."

Rowen looked a little skeptical. "Maybe… Or maybe he's just amassing a huge army."

"Even so," Kento argued, "Maybe this will be the best time to mount an attack on his fortress."

"Now?"

"Yeah! He's lost a lot of men. He'll be vulnerable. Come on, guys, what do you say?" Kento turned to Sage, who, like the others, wore his protective suit once again. "What do you say, Sage?"

He glanced up. "Whatever you guys think," he said, shrugging.

Kento eyed him. "What's eating you?"

"Nothing."

"Sure?"

"Yep."

Cye rolled his eyes. "Come on, guys! Can we talk about this invasion Kento's planning?" Kento nodded quickly.

"Yeah! Come on, don't you guys think it's a good idea?"

"What's your plan?" Ryo asked him.

"Um… That is the plan."

Ryo sighed. "Fine, we'll take a vote. Who wants to rush into Talpa's fortress and attempt to defeat him?"

"I do!" Kento said instantly.

"Well, I know you do," Ryo said, his amusement only slightly outweighing his annoyance. "What about you guys?"

"It's better than sitting around here," Rowen said. "I'm in."

Cye looked at Rowen, then nodded. "Worth a shot."

"That's three!" Kento proclaimed. "And Sage said he'd go with us!" He glanced at Sage, who shrugged. "So how 'bout it, Ryo? You ready to kick some Talpa butt?"

Ryo hesitated, then grinned. "Doesn't look like I have a choice, does it?"

"Yes!" Kento exclaimed, jumping up. "Let's go now!"

"No, let's rest up," Ryo disagreed. "We'll go tonight."

Kento thought it over, then nodded. "Tonight it is."

* * *

Kento was anxious, unable to rest up for the coming battle. He paced around his room for awhile, then quietly left, escaping into the cool evening air. He decided that he would scout out the area to make sure that he was not leading his friends to their deaths, without a chance of winning against Talpa, the ruler of the Netherworld.

He leapt between the buildings, searching for any signs of activity as the sun began to set, casting purple and orange shadows across the deep blue sky. For a long time, he saw nothing, not even the scurry of the rats that now ran rampant through the deserted city. _A rat utopia_ , he thought grimly. _That's what our city has become, thanks to Talpa._

The street lamps automatically came on at 7:30, illuminating many of the main roads. Nearby, a traffic light flicked yellow, then changed to red, conducting no traffic whatsoever. As he stood atop women's shoe store, surveying the area, he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned, crouching low so as to be harder to see and less of a target. He peered through the darkness, waiting to see it again. It came, then a figure walked casually into the street, standing directly under the circle of light cast by an overhanging lamp.

Kento recoiled slightly, recognizing the slim figure of Dani. His eyes hardened as he watched her walk slowly across the street. She paused, then moved quickly into the shadows once more. He hesitated, wondering if he should turn and leave or follow her. Maybe she would lead him to Talpa's troops. At the very least, he might be able to wrest some information from her.

For a moment, he even contemplated the idea of offing her, but the thought made him wince. He had never really seen her do anything terrible, and it wasn't like she was an evil pile of armor like the majority of Talpa's troops. She had a face, thoughts, and maybe even a family, albeit one with some seriously messed up values.

He finally chose to follow her, in hopes that he could find something out. As quietly as he could, Kento leapt over to the next building, nearest where she had disappeared. He crouched again, waiting to see where she had gone. He caught sight of movement again, and followed shortly, trailing the girl as she wound her way through the confusing maze of city streets.

She moved slowly for the most part, but, after several minutes of being tailed, she sped up, cutting through a dark alley. Kento cursed silently, straining his eyes to see where she had gone.

He leapt across to another building, but still saw nothing. He stood there, scowling, angry at himself for letting the girl get away. Then he whirled, listening. A few blocks down, he could hear the sound of combat.

He rushed that way, quickly summoning his armor as he went. "Armor of Hardrock, Dao Gi!" he whispered, calling for his armor and tying in the name of the virtue he stood for – Justice. The armor slowed him down only slightly, and soon he reached the scene of the battle. He was somewhat surprised to see the dark warrior, clad in what Mia had called the Armor of Tempest, fighting a squad of Talpa's goon soldiers. He immediately leapt down, helping his fellow in battle.

He spun his three-section staff, the sanjiegun, knocking one goon in the head. That one soon got up, though, running at him once more. "Oh, come on!" he yelled in irritation, hitting the guy again – harder this time. The armored man didn't get up again, but someone ran at Kento from behind. Kento flipped forwards, then lashed out at him with his sanjiegun.

The fight lasted for a few more minutes, but was not too difficult with the two working together. At one point, Kento spied two soldiers moving up behind Tempest while he was occupied with two others. He quickly ran over, screaming out a war cry, and bashed their heads together. Tempest turned at the noise, then nodded briefly at Kento in thanks.

"Whoo!" Kento whooped once the soldiers had all ceased to rise. "That was great!"

The warrior bowed slightly to Kento. "Thank you."

"No problem, dude. You always seem to show up at the right times."

The warrior laughed quietly, but didn't speak, so Kento continued, "By the way, have you seen a girl around here? I was following her to find out information. She betrayed us to Talpa."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tempest said, watching him.

"Yeah… Well, watch out for her. She seems innocent. She calls herself Dani."

"Thank you for the warning. I'll watch for her."

"Cool… Well, dang, I wish I hadn't lost her." Kento sighed. He was about to power down, out of his heavy armor, but decided not to, since the purple guy hadn't. That would feel a bit awkward, he decided. "She may have led us to some secret outpost or something… Oh! Dude, listen, we're going to attack Talpa tonight. You comin'?"

"I'll be there," the wearer of Tempest said, nodding.

"Great! With six, we'll totally kick Talpa around."

"One can hope." The dark purple warrior turned to go.

"Hey! So, is it true that you wear the Armor of Tempest?" Kento asked.

"Yes."

"What's your Virtue?"

"Love."

"Love?"

"Yes."

"That sucks. What a wimpy virtue."

The dark warrior turned back to face him, his eyes angry. "You believe that?"

Kento was taken aback. "Well… No. Love is important."

"Love is why you fight."

"What?"

"If you did not love this city, this world, or care for its inhabitants, would you really fight so hard to defend it?"

Kento thought that over for a moment. "No. I guess not."

The mystery warrior nodded. "Without justice, trust, wisdom, life, or virtue itself," he said, naming the virtues of the other Ronins, "there is no love. Without love, none of the others can exist."

Kento was silenced for once, considering that. When he looked up, the wearer of the Armor of Tempest, the defender of Love, was gone.


	5. Attack on the Dynasty

Chapter 5

"You seriously bashed his virtue?" Rowen asked Kento, laughing.

"I didn't mean to!"

"His virtue, Kento?" Sage asked, shaking his head.

"I was just surprised! None of ours are anything like love!"

"But he did say he's coming tonight?" Ryo ascertained. Kento nodded. "Then it's time to go." Ryo glanced at a clock, but knew that the time made no difference. Nobody would be off their guard in Talpa's fortress.

Without another word, the Ronin Warriors left, gathering a few blocks away from Talpa's monstrous building to wait for the sixth warrior.

They waited for nearly an hour, but he didn't appear.

"I swear he said he was coming!" Kento insisted, looking anxious.

"Maybe he's sulking because you bashed his virtue," Rowen said pointedly.

"I didn't!"

"Shut up, you two," Sage snapped. "We'll have to go on without him. No big deal."

Cye nodded in agreement.

"Let's do it, then," Kento said. Quickly, all five of them summoned their respective armors and took their weapons in hand.

They cautiously approached the massive building, moving as quietly as possible. "How do we get in?" Rowen whispered.

"Um… Is there a door?" Kento asked.

"What about over there?" Ryo asked, gesturing with one of his katanas.

"That looks door-like," Rowen agreed, seeing the indentation in the wall, close to a quarter mile off. They swiftly moved in that direction, wary of their surroundings. Though none of them spoke of it, they all suspected a trap.

Sage gripped his sword tightly, but was ready to swing. He could feel his sweat building up under his armor, causing his clothes to stick uncomfortably to his skin. The group spoke little, fearing another ambush. They reached what actually was a doorway  
in just a few minutes and stood there looking at it for a time. It was a set of double doors, stretching easily twenty feet high, blood red in color, with gold etching covering it. It was a powerful sight, but they had no time to admire, even if they  
had wanted to enjoy being around anything that had to do with Talpa.

"Who wants to bang the doorknocker?" Kento whispered, gesturing to the huge, gold-inlaid knocker on the right hand door. His joke failed miserably, nobody even replying to that comment.

"So, we're going to walk in the front doors, waving around?" Rowen asked pointedly, glancing around for another entrance.

"That appears to be the plan," Ryo sighed. "We really should have thought ahead."

"Well, let's go find another way in, then," Kento said, sounding miffed that his awesome plan was being torn apart.

They never got the chance. The doors began to open, swinging silently on their enormous hinges. Sage quickly leapt to a battle stance, gripping his sword tightly, watching with wary eyes.

So, while the five of them focused on the doorway, the second portion of the attack snuck up behind them. They were rushed from all sides, surrounded by soldiers under Talpa's control.

It was easily the fiercest battle that Sage had ever fought in. For a long time, as he slashed, unseeing, around him, he believed with some degree of certainty that his end was near. There was no way the five of them could defeat Talpa's entire army like  
this. Thousands of men, or creatures of some sort, in green armor crowded around them, screaming for their blood to spill.

"Get out of here!" Sage could dimly hear Ryo yelling over the fray of the war. He swung his sword once more, then leapt up, jumping on the shoulders of another goon. He used that to push off, leaping farther away, shoving the soldier into two others as  
he did so. Hands reached up to grab his ankles, crying out warnings to the others. He kicked fiercely, swinging his sword downwards towards their outstretched arms.

One hand, however, found hold on his foot, bringing him smashing back into the ground. Dazed, he was unable to do anything for a split second, and that was all it took. The soldiers swarmed him, beating them with their weapons, bashing him further and  
further into oblivion. He reached desperately for his sword, lying just inches away, but someone kicked it further off, sending it skittering among green feet.

Sage shut his eyes, his sight blurring. _This is it_ , he thought grimly as his consciousness began to fade. _I hope the others got away._

* * *

"Dammit!" Rowen exclaimed fearfully, looking around. "Where's Sage?!" The four others had managed to gather together about a mile away, beaten and bruised. Even with the distance between them, they could still hear the cries of the bloodthirsty soldiers.  
He looked at the other three. "We have to go back."

The others were quiet for a long moment. "We can't," Cye said, shutting his eyes. "Or else we'll all get killed."

"But we have to!" Rowen insisted. "We can't leave him!"

Ryo looked around at his friends. "There's only one way."

* * *

Sage awoke in darkness. He sat up slowly, every inch of muscle protesting. He gently tested each limb, checking for broken bones. He took in a deep breath, but let it out quickly, gasping with pain. At least two ribs were definitely cracked, possibly  
broken. Taking in a few shallow breaths, he began to concentrate, focusing on the pain. He imagined the pain as a flame, roaring through his body. Slowly, he concentrated on making the flame smaller and smaller, until it was no bigger than the fire  
of a candle. Keeping that imaginary flamesmall to keep the pain at bay, Sage slowly raised himself to his feet and let his eyes adjust to the light.

The room he was in was obviously poorly lit and also completely empty. He looked around for his sword, cursing when he found it nowhere to be seen. Of course not. He should have expected no less. Sage quickly searched the room, checking for any possible  
traps. Seeing nothing, he powered down, then immediately called his armor back to him. As he had hoped, his sword came too, summoned along with the mystical armor.

The weight of the heavy sword felt comforting in his hands, giving him at least some protection in this place. His heart was pounding, but he refused to admit, even to himself, that he was even a little frightened. He licked his lips, then crouched by  
a wall, placing his ear by it. He listened intently, but heard only silence from the other side. He straightened, took a step back, then swung his sword at the wall as hard as he could. It took a few hits to make a hole big enough to fit through,  
but it really wasn't difficult. "Found the door," he muttered with a little smirk, stepping through the makeshift doorway.

Straining to see in front of him, he walked down the hallway, keeping his fingers on the wall so that he could tell if it changed direction.

The hall weaved, seeming to lead to nowhere in particular. He passed a few doorways, but they only led to empty rooms. "This guy has a bit too much space," Sage said to himself, thinking of how massive the towering fortress was, even when looking at it  
from miles away.

Finally, the area around him began to change. The hall widened out and became somewhat lighter, though he couldn't tell where exactly the light was coming from.

He had to admit, that was a little freaky.

He held his sword in front of him, peering down corners before he turned. So far, he had seen absolutely no sign of life. That was beginning to worry him, if only because he doubted that Talpa would leave a captured Ronin Warrior alone to escape.

He stiffened suddenly, hearing running footsteps coming down the hallway towards him, around yet another corner. Sage tightened his grip on his sword, waiting to swing it if danger presented itself.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of slim Dani skidding down the corner. Apparently, she wasn't expecting him, either, because she kept running straight at him, looking over her shoulder. Not sure what was going on, he lowered his sword, staring  
curiously. Dani didn't look forward until it was too late, managing to barrel straight into him, sending them both sprawling to the floor. She immediately leapt to her feet, then paused, staring at him.

"Sage?"

Sage glared at her, then swiftly climbed to his feet, grabbing his sword. "So you are on Talpa's side!"

She shook her head. "No time for that – come on!" She ran down the way he had already come from, but then took a different turn. Sage hesitated, but then followed. If it was a trick, he was dead, but she had been running from something, at least. Sage  
still hadn't figured out exactly what he thought of the strange girl, but, even after what had happened, some part of him wanted to trust her.

She stopped suddenly, and soon Sage could hear combat coming from somewhere up ahead. She turned to him slowly, fear in her eyes. "Your friends are coming for you," she said.

Sage shook his head. "They're not that dumb."

Dani bit her lip. "I heard one of the Warlords calling out orders. What's the Inferno armor?"

Sage stared at her for a long moment. "I have to get out there," he said. Without the power of the Halo armor, Ryo's Inferno armor would be greatly weakened.

"Do you trust me?" Dani asked.

"No."

"Didn't think so. Come on, anyway." She moved quickly towards the sound of combat, then paused. The clamor of battle was nearby.

"Do you have a plan?" Sage asked, curious despite himself.

"Not really." She chewed her lip, something he had seen a lot of during the time period she had stayed with him. Sage looked towards where the battle was coming from. Hoping fervently it wasn't a trap, he rushed forward, focusing on Ryo as he did so.  
As he did so, he could feel his armor weakening, slipping away from him. A bright shot of green light flew out of him as his armor vanished, leaving him more vulnerable.

* * *

Dani watched, quickly understanding what had happened. The Inferno was a combination of the five Ronin armors, resulting in something more powerful than they had imagined. She waited for a few moments, then followed after Sage.

* * *

Sage, unarmored and weaponless, ran into the battle just in time to see Ryo grow more powerful than before, the addition of the Halo armor giving the advantage to him. Even sapped of energy, Sage fought fiercely, throwing kicking and punches. He dimly  
realized that they were in some kind of main room, filled with Talpa's stupid goon soldiers. A hole in the wall indicated the entrance Ryo had used. "Sage!" Ryo cried, seeing him nearby. "Get out of here!"

"Only when you do!" Sage called back.

"Get out of here, you idiot!"

Sage didn't answer, though he knew that Ryo was right. Without his armor, he was weaker.

"Armor of Tempest… Dao Ai!" The voice carried even over the screech of armor. Sage looked up in shock, but saw only a flash of darkness amidst the green.

"Now he shows up," he whispered, but was grateful. He could feel his energy waning, sapped from the loss of his armor. Together, the Inferno, Tempest, and Sage battled an uncountable mass of green soldiers. The Warlords were nowhere to be seen, he noted  
with much relief.

Even so, it soon became evident that the battle was going in favor of Talpa. "Sage, you have to get out of here," Ryo called out when Sage was nearby.

"What about Tempest?"

"Just get out! We'll be fine!"

Sage knew that, in his state, he probably wasn't doing much to help the fight, anyway. He moved towards the hole, but was blocked by fresh men. He was about to try to get past them, but a sudden flash of dark purple light distracted both him and the goons.  
It flew across the room, connecting with Ryo. Almost instantly, his armor changed. Strips of the same shade of plum ran across the chest, spikes came out of his feet, and, in some nearly imperceptible manner, Ryo seemed even larger, though he didn't  
appear to be weighed down by the armor.

Almost instantly, the battle turned in favor of Ryo. Seeing this, the remaining soldiers scattered. Grinning, Ryo took out the slowest ones as they dashed away.

"Come on," Ryo said, looking at Sage. "Let's get out of here – they're probably going for reinforcements."

"Where's Tempest?" Sage asked, looking around, dismissing Ryo's words.

Ryo felt a bit stupid for forgetting. Still wearing the powerful white armor, he cast his eyes around. "I don't see him."

"Well, we can't leave without him!"

"I think he left without you," said a quiet voice from behind them. They turned, and were surprised to see Dani – Ryo even more than Sage. Rage filled his body.

"You! What are you doing here?!"

She didn't answer, just looked back at him. "The other Warrior," she said, with slight emphasis on the word 'other', giving them looks that made Sage feel almost guilty, "Left already. Through that big hole." She gestured towards Ryo's improvised door.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't snap your neck right here," Ryo said angrily, the Inferno armor flashing in what light there was.

Sage was looking at Dani strangely. Her hair was tousled, even more so than it had been before, when she found him in the gargantuan hallway, the area around her eye was quickly blackening, and she had many cuts all her body, a few looking serious. One  
of her hands was clamped over her side, but blood leaked between her fingers. "There's no way you could have survived that fight unless you had been with them," he said before she could come up with a reason.

"You did," she said. She began to shrug, but stopped immediately, her face briefly contorting with pain.

"That's different," Sage said. He felt so stupid. He had almost believed her before, but there was no way she wasn't with Talpa. He hardened his heart against her, ignoring her wounds. "You really were betraying us the whole time."

"No, I wasn't," she snapped angrily.

"Quit lying!"

"Why the hell would I keep lying under these circumstances?" she yelled at him, looking upset and just plain exhausted. Blood ran down her leg, dripping onto the floor.

"Ryo? Sage?" a voice called anxiously. All three jerked their heads up, surprised by Rowen's voice. Rowen, Kento, and Cye picked their way through the carnage, quickly making their way over to them. They stopped dead when they saw Dani standing there.

"The hell…?" Kento asked.

"We're taking care of it," Ryo said quietly

"Then why isn't she dead?" Kento demanded. Ryo glanced around at his friends and allies in their protective suits, then powered down from Inferno, returning to the Armor of the Wildfire. He watched as the power flowed back into his friends, giving them  
some relief from the pain and exhaustion they all shared. He paused.

"Did you guys see the Tempest guy leaving?" he asked. The other looked confused.

"He actually showed up?" Cye asked

"Told you!" Kento crowed loudly, then quickly silenced himself, remembering where they were. Ryo turned to look at Dani.

"You said he left."

"He did."

"They would have seen him."

"He's pretty sneaky," she snapped, a tone entering her voice that Sage had never heard before. Ryo lost his temper, turning his arm and slamming his elbow into Dani's chest, knocking her to the ground before the others could say anything. She hit the  
ground hard, falling over the body of one of the goons. He deftly unsheathed his swords and held one to her throat.

"Where is he?" he asked coldly. She stared back at him, her green eyes firm. Blood pumped even more quickly from the wound in her side, but she made no move to hold it closed again.

"He isn't here," she said, her voice sounding weak. Ryo flicked his sword, gouging open her left arm. Dani bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain, her already pallid face turning even more ashen.

"Where is he?" he demanded, almost crazy with rage.

"Ryo!" Sage snapped. Ryo looked up at him, then back at Dani.

"Answer me."

"I did," she replied, her voice strangled with pain. He lifted his sword, but Sage jumped in and shoved him away.

"Enough, Ryo!" Ryo glared at his friend.

"We need to find him. He might be in danger."

"So are we!" Sage said. "We're sitting in Talpa's fortress, just waiting for him to come! Tempest has his armor now, and we know he's not dead, because his armor would have faded out of the Inferno. We need to leave."

"What about the traitor?" Ryo asked

"We'll leave her for Talpa," he said, glancing back at Dani. "I'm sure he'll be disappointed that she let us get away." Ryo lowered his twin katana slowly.

"You're right." He gave Dani a withering look, then, without waiting for the ones, turned and stalked out. Sage followed close behind him, sparing only a glance back at Dani, who met his gaze for a short moment.

Cye, Kento, and Rowen stood there hesitantly, then followed Ryo. Kento looked back. "You don't mess with the Ronin Warriors," he spat before leaving.

* * *

Dani gave them a moment, then struggled to her feet, clenching her hand over her latest wound. As quickly as her injuries would allow, she hurried from the fortress.


	6. Unrelenting

There were no battles for several days. "Talpa took a pretty big hit," was Cye's comment. "It might be awhile before he can launch another attack, or even send out patrols." He shot a dirty look at Kento. "And no, let's not storm his fortress."

Kento lifted his arms. "I wasn't about to suggest it!"

"Let's go patrolling anyway," Sage said, frowning out the window, watching the city streets. "You never know."

Ryo nodded. "I'll get Rowen." He took the steps three at a time, bounding up swiftly. It was late at night, three days after they had foolishly attacked Talpa's fortress. Their wounds were healing, though Sage was still a little weak. They had already cut their patrols back to one a day, but so far had found nothing at all.

They were nearly through with their routine patrol when they heard the squealing of metal being crushed and glass shattering. They glanced at each other, then ran quickly down the deserted street, turning a corner. They were unsurprised to see four of the green goons attacking the Tempest warrior, another one of them lying, unmoving, on top of a now-crushed car that had been parked on the side of the road. The Tempest warrior slammed his sword into the chest of one of his opponents, knocking him backwards. Before the five Ronins could reach him to help, one of the green armors spun out and forcefully kicked the warrior in the side.

The Tempest Ronin hit the ground hard, letting a gasp of pain escape. The other five reached him then, and quickly were able to dispatch his opponents.

"Are you all right?" Ryo asked worriedly, kneeling next to the nameless warrior, who had yet to rise. "We've been really worried about you."

"I'm fine," he muttered through gritted teeth, struggling to sit up. Ryo quickly reached out and grasped his arm to help him up, but the warrior gasped and immediately jerked away. Ryo's eyes widened.

"I'm… Sorry. Are you okay?"

"I said I'm fine."

"Are you injured?"

"I'm fine."

Ryo looked at him with a frown on his face. "Well, we could use your help. Want to come stay with us? You know… Be a member of our team?"

"Yeah!" Kento chimed in. "Come on, you're awesome!" Cye glanced over from circling around the fallen green armors, making sure they were completely gone.

"You don't have any reason to be afraid of us."

The warrior shook his head, climbing to his feet.

"No, thanks."

"Why not?" Rowen demanded, looking frustrated. "We could be so much better if we were all together, not separated like this."

"I thought we were doing just fine," he said irritably.

"At least tell us your name," Sage said quietly, leaning against a building.

"No," he said, not even looking at Sage.

Ryo shook his head. "We can't force you. But it'd be for the best. Maybe you could keep us from trusting people we shouldn't."

"Like who?" the unknown warrior asked. No one answered, looking away.

"It doesn't matter," Sage finally said, glaring at the sky. "The point is, we're on the same side. "

"Yes," the warrior agreed.

"We should stick together."

"No. " He looked around. "You guys should get going."

The other five looked at one another. "Fine. But this isn't over," Ryo said. He glanced at the warrior. "If you're injured, we have medical supplies."

"I'm fine."

"Sure you are," Ryo muttered, wondering what kind of person was so stubborn. The Ronin of Wildfire powered down to his protective suit, and the other four followed his example. "I take it you know where we stay?" The nameless fighter hesitated, then nodded. "Then you know where to find us when you need our help." He turned and walked away. The others followed their leader, glancing back occasionally at the strange Ronin.

* * *

Once she was sure they had gone, Dani powered all the way down to her clothes and collapsed the ground. Her wounds were bleeding everywhere – she was almost completely soaked in red. Her arm hung almost limply at her side, nearly useless from the wound – now infected – that Ryo had caused. Her head spun, unable to stay focused, thanks to the severe loss of blood she had been experiencing over the past few days. _I'm going to die_ , she thought dully, _all because I'm too stubborn to let them help me._ She grimaced _. I want them to trust me. Not the armor I wear._


	7. A Warrior Called Mushroom

Dani was quickly growing weaker. She had stolen supplies from deserted stores to clean and bandage her wounds, but every time she fought a patrol, she would manage to rip them open again. She was surviving, but they were taking a long, long time to heal. She was constantly exhausted, and so her body had little energy to spare to help it on its way and to create more blood. Her life became a blur of fighting, resting, and searching for unspoiled food. She lost track of the days, unsure of how much time passed every time she went to sleep, huddled in the safest spot she could find, never knowing if she would wake up the next time.

Lately, she had found herself sleeping in a dressing room in a department store. She'd pulled the pillows and blankets off a mattress on display and pulled them in there, providing her with a fairly hidden hideaway. The floor and blankets were soaked with her blood, but she was usually too tired to even care. She collapsed onto the floor, asleep before she reached the ground.

* * *

When she next awoke, the department store was completely dark. She frowned, trying to remember when she had collapsed – it had been morning, she was sure of that, but who knew which day anymore. Cautiously, she made her way out of the building, wearing her protective suit only. Blood was smeared all down the side of it – enough to make her wonder how much more she could lose.

Dani hurriedly called her armor and made her way two blocks down, where she knew the Ronins were staying with Mia and Yuli. She had stayed nearby on purpose. She arrived and looked up at the windows, seeing all the lights out.

"Hey," a voice said, surprising her. She whirled, finding Sage sitting on a curb, watching her. "We're not going out tonight."

"Oh," she said hesitantly. She stood there, glancing around. Sage stood up.

"I'm keeping watch," he explained, misinterpreting her look.

"I can do that," she offered. "You can rest." She purposefully made her voice a bit more gruff, to disguise her higher, female voice.

He shook his head. "What, you won't even tell us your name, but you want us to leave you as our only protection? I gotta tell you, Ryo and Kento are beginning to think you're not with us, after all."

"How could they think that?" she asked in surprise, furrowing her brow under her face mask. "I've helped you guys a ton."

"I know," he said, watching her closely. "But you won't let us help you. And that's what a team is about."

"Maybe I don't want to be on a team."

"Then why are you here?"

She paused, considering that. "I'm not sure."

Sage sat down again, watching her closely. "You remind me of someone."

Her heart pounded in her chest. "Who?"

He shook his head. "Nobody. It doesn't matter."

Dani sighed slightly, then went and sat down on the curb, a couple feet away. Her armor clanked as it hit the concrete. They were silent for several minutes.

"If you won't tell us your name, I'll make one up."

"Go ahead," she said with a shrug.

"Mushroom," he suggested. That startled a laugh out of her.

"Are you serious?"

"Give me a second, I'm just warming up," he told her. He inspected her armor, trying to think of something, then froze. "Is that blood?"

"Where?" she asked, looking down idly. "Oh." Sure enough, a sheen of blood was creeping down the left side of her armor. "That's okay. It's nothing."

Frowning, he reached out and gently touched her armored left arm. She sucked in her breath. "Come inside, I'll look at it for you."

"No time for that!" Boomed a new voice. Sage and Dani both leapt to their feet, automatically preparing for battle. Dais stood atop a building nearby, watching them. He leapt down, bending his knees to take the impact. The asphalt cracked under him, sending tremors through Dani's legs. "I'm afraid I'm here to cut your powwow a bit short."

"Armor of the Halo, Dao Rei!" Sage yelled, deftly calling his armor to him. Dani drew her sword and immediately ran at Dais, preparing to attack.

"I don't think we were properly introduced before," Dais said grimly, swinging his own weapon. "I'm Dais."

"Shut the hell up," Dani snapped, swinging her sword at him. Her arm spasmed with pain, severely weakening her blow. Dais laughed, easily swatting her away.

"A sixth Ronin, but you're still no stronger."

"You're wrong," Sage snapped. "We're much stronger. But we could defeat you even without him!"

Dais' laughter boom across the empty street as Dani picked herself up, shakily standing.

Sage, using the side of a building as leap-off point, jumped at Dais's head. "Yo, Rowen! Ryo! Cye! Kento! Get your lazy butts out here!" He bellowed as he flew through the air, directing his words at the third-floor of the apartment on the corner. "We've got company!"

Dais dodged his attack, running straight into Dani's. She attacked fiercely, causing him to fly backwards, through a glass window.

"Nice one, good sir," Sage congratulated.

"Thanks," she said grimly, bracing her feet. "This is gonna be rough."

Dais burst back through the wall, looking angrily at the two Ronins. The fight that ensued was hard on both parties. Sage and Dani quickly learned how to work together, moving efficiently without having to call out instructions. Even so, Dais was winning, and Dani was weakening fast.

Ryo leapt from the third story window, hitting the ground. "Sup," he said nonchalantly to Dais. The other three jumped out behind him. Ryo looked at Sage. "Miss us?"

"Just a bit," Sage said, sounding relieved. He made the mistake of turning to flash a grin at his comrades.

"Sage!" Dani gasped, running forward. Sage spun around, just in time to see Dais leaping at him. Dani leapt in the way, taking the full blow of his attack. She hit the ground hard, and didn't move after that.

"No!" Sage yelled, running to her side. "Get up!" She didn't move. Dais laughed ruthlessly.

"One down. Five to go." Sage turned his eyes flashing. The others, already in their armor, drew their weapons.

"You're going down, Daisy," Kento snapped. They leapt into battle.

The fight was filled with fury, with neither side gaining much of an advantage. "Guys! We have to go Inferno!" Rowen yelled

"Let's do it!" Kento screamed. Almost simultaneously, Cye, Kento, Rowen, and Sage transferred their armors to Ryo, giving him the power of the Armor of Inferno. Dani, barely conscious, heard them faintly, as if they were a great distance away. With a huge push of effort, she transferred her power to Ryo, a rush of purple flying at the white armor. Her armor and the last remnants of energy gone, her world went black.


	8. Tempest

Author's Note: The majority of this story was actually written about 12 years ago, when I was 14 years old. I recently found the file on my computer and felt inspired, so have been editing and adding on. The second half of this chapter is actually where I picked up writing.

That being said, do not expect a sudden increase in quality! I admit that I stopped writing in high school, and have really not done any since, except for research papers! In fact, much as I hate to admit it, my level of reading also took a nosedive in college.

Thank you for the reviews so far! Every review makes me ridiculously giddy.

Thank you for reading.

* * *

Dais was no match for the power of the Inferno armor. He fled the scene quickly. "Let's go after him!" Kento yelled, beginning to chase him. "Come on, Ryo, we have him!"

"No! He needs our help!" Sage called, looking around for his fallen comrade, the Tempest warrior. He had not moved from where he had fallen. Sage ran to his side, then froze. "Dani?"

That caught everyone's attention. "Where's that bitch?" Kento demanded, looking around in the alleyways. Sage was speechless, staring down at the crushed asphalt. Dani lay there, unconscious, wearing only her protective suit. Blood ran down her armor from her side, another sheen of blood on her arm. His friends hurried to his side, and stopped dead.

"Oh… No! No!" Ryo exclaimed, staring at the girl's motionless body. "That's not right! It's a trick!"

"No," Sage said softly, kneeling at her side. "It's right. Actually… It makes sense. He quickly felt her pulse. "She's still alive… Barely. Ryo, give her back her armor!" Ryo quickly powered down, returning power to the five other Ronins. Dani's body moved almost imperceptibly, but she seemed no stronger.

"What do we do?" Rowen asked, kneeling on her other side.

"She's weak," Sage muttered. "She's bleeding." He touched her arm gently. Ryo flinched, seeing the deep wound there that he had caused. "Let's take her back." For a moment, no one moved. "Come on!" he snapped angrily. "She's dying!"

Rowen gently moved his arms under her legs, while Sage supported her back and head. Cye and Kento moved to help, and together they slowly began to carry her back to the apartment in an effort to move her body as little as possible. Ryo held back, feeling extraordinarily guilty.

"Mia!" Sage yelled as soon as they were inside. "Mia, we need help!" Mia was at the doorway in a moment – she had obviously been waiting for them, worried.

"What's wr- Shit!" she gasped, unable to believe her eyes. She was temporarily struck motionless. "Put her down on the couch! I'll boil water. Rowen, get bandages… Lots of them!"

Rowen ran to do her bidding, and she quickly went into the kitchen. Sage placed her gently on the couch, then knelt beside her, listening to her very shallow, ragged breathing. He stared at her bruised, injured face, and felt overcome with guilt. He should have protected her. He should have figured it out. He should have trusted her.

But he hadn't. And now, possibly thanks to him, she was dying. Returning with the bandages, Rowen knelt beside him. "It's not your fault," he said quietly.

Sage shook his head, saying nothing. The other three stood back, saying nothing, not knowing what to do. After what seemed like hours, the water boiled, and Mia rushed the boys out of her way so that she could tend to Dani's wounds. The girl didn't stir. "Let her rest," Mia said quietly when she was done. "That's all we can do." The guys stood there, unsure, but, exhausted, they crept off to bed, one by one.

Except for Sage.

"You, too," Mia said firmly.

"I'll stay here," he said, his eyes not leaving Dani's broken face. "To make sure she's okay." She hesitated, but nodded, understanding.

"All right," she said quietly, and left him alone with her, wondering if Dani would survive the night.

* * *

Dani's world was still foggy when she awoke many hours later. She looked around in confusion, not sure where she was. She slowly sat up, and was surprised to see Sage asleep on the floor nearby. She put one hand to her head, feeling dizzy, then jerked, realizing that she only wearing her protective suit. She looked around, worried, then stood up as quickly as she could without falling, picking her way around Sage.

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice came from behind her. A squeak escaped her lips as she whirled in surprise, her head spinning. She saw Rowen standing there, arms crossed. She could only stare, open mouthed and speechless. "You are in no state to leave… Or even to stand up. We thought you were going to die." He looked down at Sage and raised his voice. "Yo, Sage! Wake up!" Sage shifted, then sat up. He saw Dani almost instantly.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed in relief. Dani felt very, very awkward, realizing that they knew exactly who she was.

"Um. Yes," she said. He frowned.

"You're standing up."

"She was just leaving, actually. I think," Rowen said informatively. Sage glared at her.

"What? You need to lie down!"

"I'm, uh, I'm okay," she said, backing towards the door. Sage leapt to his feet and grabbed her right arm carefully.

"No, you're not." He held her firmly. "Come on," he said, pulling her gently down a hall.

"Where are we going?" she asked. He looked at her in surprise, detecting a note of fear in her tone.

"You can sleep in my bed. Unless you want to eat first?"

"No," she said hesitantly. "I'm okay." He opened a door, never letting go of her arm. The room was decorated as if it had belonged to a ten-year-old kid. Old sheets, decorated with spaceships, were folded neatly in a corner. He saw her looking.

"There are new sheets," he assured her with a tentative smile. "I felt kind of stupid sleeping on them. Now, lie down," he ordered as he led her to the bed. Dani was too drained to argue any further, and just collapsed in a heap, passing out again. Sage studied her for a moment, then covered her up and brushed some of her hair from her face before he left, quietly closing the door behind him.

Later, Dani was dimly aware of someone putting a hand on her back, forcing her to sit up. Her mind was muddled, unable to form coherent thoughts or realize who was there with her. Something was put against her lips, "Drink this," a voice said, sounding far away. She obediently opened her mouth, and a warm, thick liquid was poured in. "Swallow," said the voice. Again, she obeyed, barely managing to not choke. The procedure was repeated, but she soon began to fade once more out of consciousness.

* * *

The smell of bacon woke Dani up the next time. She stirred and sat up, feeling much stronger than she had in days. She got up, remembering where she was, and crept to the door, opening it a crack. She heard the murmur of voices and the clanking of dishes, but could make out no words. She paused, considering her options. They knew who she was, so there was no point hiding, but she wasn't sure what they thought of her. She went back to Sage's bed and quickly straightened the covers, figuring she at least owed him that much.

She was walking out of the room when she caught sight of herself in a large mirror. She grimaced, reaching up to run her fingers through her hair. It wasn't perfect, but it was something. Dani cautiously left the room, glancing around before following the sounds to the kitchen.

"You see, you can't let it go _too_ long," Kento was explaining to an enraptured Yuli as he cooked bacon, "Or else it gets too crunchy. But –" He used to spatula to get the bacon out of the sizzling pan, putting it on a plate already piled high, "You don't want it too soft, either." He put more bacon on the pan. While he wasn't looking, Yuli reached up and grabbed a slice, stuffing it in his mouth. Kento pretended to be oblivious, but smiled faintly. Yuli turned, spying Dani in the doorway.

"Dani!" he yelled, running over to give her a big hug. Kento turned in surprise. "Ryo said you get to stay with us forever this time!" His arms were wrapped securely around her thighs. Dani blinked in surprise.

"Er, um, well, no, not really…" Yuli's lower lip turned out in a pout.

"But he said!"

"Ryo doesn't lie," Kento said. He walked over and slapped Dani gently on her right shoulder. "Glad to see you're alive. Yuli, Dani must be starving, get her a plate, too." Yuli ran and fetched a plate from a cabinet, climbing up a step-stool to do it. Dani realized that she was extraordinarily hungry, and her stomach let out a rumble to prove it. Kento smirked at her, then took the plate from Yuli, scooping a huge portion of bacon onto the plate. "Start with that," he said, handing it to her and gesturing for her to sit. She wanted to refuse, but she was starving. She took it and sat down.

"No! My bacon!" Kento sounded brokenhearted. She quickly dropped the piece she was holding , looking up. Kento was trying to save the bacon in the pan – he'd let it go just a bit too long. She shook her head, then picked up the piece again, taking a bite.

White Blaze padded into the kitchen and let out a loud yawn. He gave Dani a long look, the collapsed on the ground at her feet. Yuli ran to him and started petting his face.

"I smell bacon!" a voice announced from the hallway. Footsteps approached. "Really, Kento, we just ate dinner." Cye appeared in the doorway. He looked surprised to see Dani, then an easy grin came to his face. "Hey! You're awake!"

"Gotta get my power up for tonight!" Kento laughed.

"Um… Yeah," Dani said through a mouth full of bacon.

"We thought you were never gonna wake up!" Cye said, pulling out the seat across from her and sitting down.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her brow furrowing. "How long was I asleep?"

"About three days."

Dani almost choked on her bacon. "What?!"

"Don't worry," Cye assured her with an easy grin, "Sage didn't mind you taking over his room,"

"Three days?" she demanded incredulously, convinced they were messing with her head. Cye nodded gravely.

"We really thought we were gonna lose you there for a while." He glanced at her plate. "Eat, you've gotta be starving." Dani wanted to protest, to ask more questions, but her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she was indeed starving. She tried hard to not eat like the boys did, shoving the food in her mouth as fast as she could, but mostly failed. Cye and Kento seemed to not notice her very unladylike behavior. It was, after all, completely normal in this home.

The boys kept quiet until she was done eating. Cye eyed her as she relaxed back into the back of the wooden chair. "So, why didn't you just tell us? Before, I mean." Dani tensed up.

"I… I don't know," she said lamely. "At first it was because I didn't know who YOU guys were, and didn't know if I could trust you. And then, I dunno… I guess I just wanted you guys to learn to trust me for me, not for the Armor of Tempest."

"Well… That was dumb," Kento commented. "We could have avoided a lot of trouble." Dani shrugged, not saying anything.

"Well, why not tell us when Mia caught you sneaking out, then?" Cye asked. Dani shrugged again, feeling small. She wanted desperately to leave and go back to hiding out in department stores. "And what about in the fortress? Your arm is still hurt because you didn't just say 'Hey, look, it's me, the sixth Ronin Warrior! Surprise!' Ryo feels awful because he hurt you like that. We almost killed you. And you would have let us, wouldn't you have?" Cye demanded, getting a bit worked up. He was starting to seem angry. "It was stupid, Dani. You should have just told us."

Dani shrugged again, looking away. She didn't say anything because she knew he was right. She could have avoided a lot of trouble, but it had never felt right to her.

"Cye's right. It was stupid," came a hard voice from the doorway. "You could have saved us all a lot of grief by just coming clean instead of skulking around and following us about." Ryo stepped in. His face was impassive, but his eyes were blazing. "You put us all at risk. We could have planned our attacks much better if you had been there, but instead you were creeping around showing up in the middle, refusing to work together. Sage almost died in that attack on the Dynasty! And why? For your pride? If you had been there with us, we would have stood a much better chance! And you almost died, too, and all because you refused to be honest and you refused our help. This is not teamwork!"

"Whoa… Ryo. Dude. She just woke up, " Kento put in awkwardly, sending a quick glance at Dani, who was not reacting. "Can't you wait to crush her very soul until, you know, after she finishes eating?" He looked to Cye for support, who provided it by nodding agreement.

"No," Dani said quietly, staring down at the table. "Ryo is right." She took in a deep breath of air, then squared her shoulders and turned to face the Ronin of the Wildfire. "You're right," she repeated, looking directly at him. "I'm sorry."

Ryo met her eyes, unmoving for several long moments. Finally, he spoke. "This is what's going to happen. You're going to stay here. With us. Because if we don't unite and work as a team, we won't be able to defeat Talpa. We stand a much better chance if you are with us – fully, completely with us. You can't be with us if you aren't here."

Dani nodded, feeling small. Ryo seemed to relax. His eyes still blazed with anger, but he kept it in check. "Finish your food, then go back to bed. You still have a lot more healing to do."

"I… I was done," the girl answered. She turned and put her plate in the sink, then left the room quickly.

"Ryo, man, that was pretty harsh," Cye commented. He picked up baseball from the floor and tossed it between his hands.

"It was the truth. She put us all into danger," Ryo answered, snatching some bacon. "We all learned early on that we were nothing if we don't work together. She needs that lesson too, evidently."

* * *

Dani returned to the room, shutting the door tightly behind her. She felt like a little girl being sent to her room. Filled with shame, she sank to the floor and leaned against the door. She sat like that for a while, trying to fight back the shame and self-hatred that rose up in her, threatening tears.

A soft knock came at the door, making her jump slightly. She stood up, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over her as she did so. "Um, come in," she said. The door opened and Sage popped his head in.

"Hey. I heard you were awake. Wanted to see it for myself." He walked in and sat down in the desk chair. "How do you feel?"

Dani sank down on the edge of bed. "Well, pretty much like I've been hit by a truck, honestly."

Sage let out a quick laugh. "Sounds about right. We're just glad you're alive. You seem to have a pretty bad habit of not taking care of yourself."

"I get by," Dani stated with a shrug.

"Dani, those wounds were ridiculous. Infected, not healing… You were covered in blood! You had lost so much, we aren't even sure how you were standing up."

"Me neither," Dani said jokingly, but neither one of them found humor in it.

"I'm serious. You shouldn't have been still fighting."

"And then what? Let Talpa win?"

"No! Let the other five warriors with mystical powers handle it for a little while!" Sage huffed out a deep breath and flicked some of his blond hair away from his face.

A long moment of silence stretched between the two. Dani looked out the window, wishing that there was more to see. The bustle of the city was completely gone, replaced by dirty, abandoned streets and trash blown by the wind.

"Listen…" Sage started finally, "I heard about what Ryo said to you. I'm sorry."

Dani shrugged. "He was right." Sage didn't disagree with her.

"Yes, he was right." A somewhat hard note came into his voice, but nothing like Ryo's had sounded like. "But he was too harsh. Yes, you should have trusted us. You should have told us the truth from the beginning. But…" he sighed. "You've heard it already. I didn't come up here to lecture you." He got up from his seat. "You need to rest. Someone will come check on you in a bit, bring you some food." He paused. "I don't mean it to sound like you're stuck in this room. You can come out, do whatever you like, of course."

Dani met his eyes, then forced a smile. "Thank you, Sage. That's very kind of you. Don't you want your room back?" She stood up as well, looking around as if to collect her things, realizing quickly she had absolutely nothing with her. "I can go somewhere else. Actually, I had a place to stay bef-" Sage cut her off by raising his hands up to her and shaking his head adamantly.

"No, no! It's okay. I've moved in with Kento," he said with a grin. "Brought in a bed and everything. This will be your room now."

Dani frowned. "It's okay, honestly. I hate to be a bother." Sage reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Dani. You are not a bother. We already decided. Now, please get some rest. We'll need you at full strength soon." He flashed one more smile, then turned and went to the door. He paused there, one hand resting on the door. He turned back around suddenly.

"Can I ask you something?" Dani looked up.

"Yes," she replied with a nod.

"What happened at the fortress?"

"Why wasn't I there at the beginning, you mean?" Sage hesitated.

"Let's start with that, yeah."

Dani let out a deep sigh. "I was on my way when I had a… run-in. There was an army hiding in the city. I think they wanted to sneak up on you. I happened upon them, and so," she shrugged. "I attacked."

"No way you took out an entire army on your own," Sage said skeptically. She shook her head.

"No. They would've had me, but the main part of the army moved out. They only left a few to finish me off. They didn't."

"That must have been the attack that snuck up on us at the gates. I guess they realized we were moving."

Dani nodded. A long silence stretched between the two. Finally, Sage spoke again. "The other thing…"

Dani looked up, a question written on her face.

"In the fortress. After I was captured," Sage started again, looking embarrassed. "Why were you there?"

She looked down. "I arrived just in time to see the end. See you guys retreat, and see them take you out. I went in after you." She glanced quickly up at Sage's face, then away. "I attacked while they were dragging you away. It wouldn't have worked if they had expected me. I think they were so focused on your friends that they didn't anticipate me at all. So I…" Sage noted that she was turning a little bit red. "I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't. So I hid you in a room and went to make sure the path was clear."

Sage nodded. "I owe you a great debt. Thank you, Dani." He paused again. "When you ran into me, you weren't wearing your armor. Why?"

Dani sighed, sinking down onto the bed and rubbing her forehead. "I…" she paused and swallowed, then took a deep breath. "I wanted to res- I wanted to help you out. As me. Not as Tempest." She sighed again. "I guess I thought that if I helped you, you – you all might trust me. And then I could tell you the truth. So I powered down on my way back to get you."

Sage walked to the bed and sat beside her. Awkwardly, he patted her on the shoulder. "Hey," he said with a smile. She looked up at him. "You saved my life. I won't forget that." He stood up again. Dani did as well. "You really should get some more rest. I'm sorry to have bothered you for so long." He walked to the door again, this time clicking it shut behind him.

Dani looked around the room, sinking back onto the bed. She felt overwhelmed. She knew that she should be happy, but found herself instead feeling something else entirely. She was grateful for their kindness, of course, as well of ashamed of her previous actions. The other Ronins had every right to be mad at her. She had snuck around, and she still couldn't explain to herself why she had done so. It would have made much more sense to come clean when she realized who they were, but a part of her – the same part that made her want to flee from this house – had rebelled fiercely against the idea. Dani laid back against the pillows with a sigh. Her body felt very weak, despite the three days of rest it had already received, but her brain kept churning. Despite that, she soon faded again into a deep sleep.

* * *

"DANI!" a voice came at the door. Dani sat bolt upright, practically leaping from the bed, summoning her protective suit as she did so. The door opened a crack. "Dani?"

"Yuli, no!" a hissed voice came. Dani recognized the voice as belonging to Mia. "She's resting."

"No, she's not. Look!" Yuli pushed open the door and pointed at Dani. "Dani, we're going to play baseball. Do you want to come?"

Dani smiled at the boy. "I'm not very good."

"That's okay. Neither is Cye."

"HEY!" came a voice from down the hallway. "You'll eat those words soon!" Dani grinned despite herself.

"Yeah, okay. I'd love to." Yuli jumped into the air in excitement.

"Great! I'll go tell Ryo!" He ran down the hallway. Mia still stood in the doorway, looking Dani up and down.

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Mia asked. Dani shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. The last time she'd seen Mia, the older girl had been screaming at her and accusing her of being a traitor. She knew that Mia had been doing what she thought was best in order to protect her friends, but it was a hard event to bounce back from. She got the impression that Mia hadn't forgiven her for not being honest, too.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Baseball is easier than fighting, and I'll need to do that soon." Mia nodded.

"You're undoubtedly dehydrated. I'll get you some water, you'll need lots of it. And…" She paused and glanced at Dani again. "I'll get you a hairbrush, too." She turned and walked away, leaving Dani feeling self-conscious. The brown-haired girl put a hand to her hair, trying to comb through the tangles with her fingers.

* * *

An hour later, the group of eight stood in an empty park. The grass was overgrown and filled with weeds and the man-made pond was green with scum, but that didn't stop Yuli from running around in joy. "Here's home base," he called out to Dani, pointing to a spot on the ground, "And there's first, second, and third. We finally have even teams! We never had even teams before! Well, unless Mia didn't play, but she likes to, she just won't say."

While Yuli ran and talked, Ryo was walking around the outskirts of the park, searching for signs of danger. Only when he returned to the group were teams decided. Kento and Yuli, it seemed, were always team captains. By schoolyard pick, Kento chose Sage, Rowen, and Cye, while Yuli took Ryo, Mia, and Dani.

Kento's team took a huge lead almost instantly, even though Dani suspected them of going easy on them. so, the park was soon filled with laughter and friendly jibes. The five original Ronins seemed very close with each other and with Mia and Yuli. Dani couldn't help but notice Ryo touching Mia a little more than was necessary as he gave her advice and adjusted her grip on the bat.

When it was Dani's turn to bat, she walked up nervously. Kento, the pitcher, smirked at her. "All right!" he yelled at his team. "It's another girl! Scoot in!" Laughingly, the other three boys did so. Dani grinned and cocked her head, placing a hand on her hip.

"Now, Kento, do you really think that being closer will help you catch the ball better?" she jibed, returning the playful insult. Most of the group hooted with laughter, though Ryo only smiled faintly and Mia remained stony faced. Dani settled herself into the batting position, shifting her heels and staring Kento down.

Kento wound up, smirking, then threw the ball. Dani swung and missed. "Come on, Dani, you can do it!" cheered Yuli from second base.

Kento wound up again, then threw again. Once again, Dani missed. On the third try, the bat connected with the ball. The ball hit the ground before it even reached Kento, rolling towards outfield in between second and third bases. Dani dropped the bat and sprinted to first, just barely making it before Sage threw the ball to Rowen, who had a foot on the base. Dani suspected Sage of moving more slowly than he could have.

Ryo was up to bat next. Without any words, Kento's team began to move backwards. Kento straightened and hardened his jaw. "All right, Wildfire, let's see whatcha got!" Kento called. Ryo grinned.

Kento hurled the ball much faster than he had when Yuli, Mia, or Dani had been up to bat. Ryo cracked the bat against the ball, and it went flying. Dani immediately began to run, easily rounding second and heading towards third. That's when the fun came to a screeching halt.


	9. Three Little Friends

The sounds of clanking metal halted everyone in their tracks. Dani faltered before she reached third base, turning towards the sounds. "Time for games, is it?" Came a booming, haughty voice.

"Sekhmet!" gasped Cye. Ryo spun towards Mia.

"Mia, take Yuli and get home! Hide!" He turned to Dani. "Go with them."

"What?" Dani demanded, furrowing her brow. "No! I can fight!" Ryo shook his head.

"You aren't strong enough. You'll just get hurt." Anger boiled up in Dani.

"I AM strong enough! You wouldn't be saying that if it were anyone else!" Ryo stalked towards her, eyes hard.

"I said, go with them. You aren't ready. Besides, Mia and Yuli will need protection." The clanking of the armor was coming closer, and Dani could see the figure of Sekhmet standing atop a nearby office building. "Get them safe." Dani wanted to argue, but looked at Ryo's steely eyes and nodded. Without another word, Ryo turned. "Ronins, let's go!" The five boys sprinted towards the sounds of the approaching battalion and the laughing face of Sekhmet. White Blaze, who had been lounging in the sun, followed after them.

Dani turned to Mia and Yuli. "Let's go!" The three took off, running back in the direction of their house. They didn't stop until they reached it, all three out of breath. Dani, who had been bedridden for more than three days, leaned against a wall, dizzy and panting heavily.

"Yuli, let's go read a book," Mia insisted. She glanced at Dani, then followed the child. Dani peered out a window once she had collected herself and relaxed somewhat, seeing no enemies around. She felt angry at Ryo for ordering her here, but saw the sense in it. She felt absolutely drained just from the run back to the house. It seemed that he had been right – she was not ready for a fight. She sank into a chair, listening to the faint murmurs of Mia comforting Yuli.

Dani stayed near the entrance, checking out the window periodically to make sure the street was safe. She paced back and forth in the front room, worrying about the other Ronins and how they were faring in the battle. A sudden loud THUMP sent chills down her spine. Dani once again ran to the window and peered out, but now nothing. She tensed, feeling that something was off.

Without preamble, the door burst open. More than open – it came flying off its hinges, crashing into the stairwell. Dais towered there, his head above the door frame, his six scythes stretching out around him. He grinned wickedly down at Dani. "Hello, girl," he snarled. Around him appeared many of the green-armored goons that Talpa employed. They appeared as if out of thin air, surrounding the apartment as far as Dani could see. If they stretched around the entire building, there were easily two hundred. "Did you like my little illusion? We wanted to catch the Ronins little friends unprotected… Which I see you are." Dani turned and ran to the back room to protect Mia and Yuli. They were already crouched in a corner, having obviously heard the door bursting inward.

"We got to get you out of here!" Dani gasped. She spun back to the door. Dais had already followed her inside, ducking his head and shifting sideways to fit into the doorway. Green goons followed him, their feet making loud sounds with each footfall.

"The Ronins will do anything to get their little fans back," Dais cackled. "It looks like they picked up a third somewhere. No matter. We have plenty of cells in the castle!" Dani backed away from her, blocking his view of Mia and Yuli. While she did so, Dani focused her brain to summon her protective armor, but Mia grabbed her arm, distracting her.

"Don't," Mia hissed under her breath, shocking the younger girl. "There are too many. You can't take them all, nobody could. They don't know who you are. That's our only strength. Wait. They won't kill us." Dani hesitated, but saw the wisdom in the words. She tensed up, but did nothing as the goons filled the room, then roughly grabbed her and dragged her away. Yuli cried when he was carelessly thrown over a soldier's shoulder, his tears making tracks down his cheeks. Mia remained stoic, sending a glare towards Dais. "You know they will defeat you. This won't stop them from taking you down," she declared boldly. Dais slapped her almost lazily.

"Quiet, girl. I'd hate to have to ruin that pretty face." Mia's face turned red with anger, but said nothing else.

Dais led his triumphant party back to the castle, their three captives in tow. On the way, the warlord gloated about tricking the Ronin Warriors to leave their "little friends" unprotected and about using them as bait. At one point, Yuli tried to scream for Ryo. No answer came, and the boy was rewarded with a hit from a goon. Dais roughly store off a piece of Mia's jacket and stuffed it into the boy's mouth. The child made no more sound, but the tears never stopped.


	10. The Faces on the Screen

The Ronins fought fiercely for what seemed like hours, but the soldiers kept coming. Until, that is, they didn't. One second, the boys seemed to be fighting an unending horde led by Sekhmet. The next, Sekhmet was gone and the soldiers retreated after him. The boys stood in their armor, breathing heavily. Kento leaned on his sanjiegun for support. "What happened?" Rowen asked, looking around in confusion. "Where did they go?"

"I guess they gave up!" Kento said with a grin, standing up straight and spinning his weapon. "They couldn't take the heat!"

"I don't know," Cye said doubtfully, "That seemed strange." Ryo shook his head.

"You're right, it was weird. It could be a trap." His friends agreed. The five Ronins climbed to the top of a building and gave chase to the army, keeping some distance. They watched as Sekhmet and the soldiers approached Talpa's castle, then entered without a glance back.

"They could still come back," Sage said, sounding doubtful.

"This is new. They've never just full-on retreated like that," Rowen said.

"Well, Sekhmet has," Kento pointed out, "But only after we turn his friends into dumpster fodder!"

"Let's go home, rest, and regroup," Ryo said, watching the gate where his enemies had disappeared. "Be on guard, though. Something does seem fishy here." The other four armored friends nodded, and together they turned and headed back to their apartment building, leaping between rooftops.

Their feet crunched onto the pavement in front of the apartment building they had taken to living in. They climbed up the stairs to the third floor, Kento cracking jokes and laughing over their recent victory. Ryo led the group, grinning slightly at his friend's antics. As he reached the third floor landing, he froze.

"No," his whispered, then took off running. "No. NO! Mia! Yuli! MIA!" The other four followed, quickly seeing what had upset Ryo. The door to one of the two apartments they had taken to living in, the one in which Mia and Yuli stayed in, was broken and crashed inward, the frame showing significant damage. Ryo ran inside in a near blind panic, hardly seeing the destruction of the living rom. Furniture was crumpled and trashed, picture frames – hung by the family who lived here before Talpa's reign – were shattered on the ground. "MIA!" he shouted again, running to the back bedroom that Mia and Yuli shared. The others fanned out, searching the apartment for clues as to what had happened here.

They gathered back in the destroyed living room. Ryo was practically shaking with rage, while the others all looked visibly upset.

"What happened here?" Rowen asked aloud, looking around him, knowing no one had an answer.

"Obviously it was Talpa," Kento said angrily, balling his hands into fists.

"Yes, obviously," Rowen agreed, rolling his eyes. "But why? Where are they? And… Dani was with them."

Sage looked up from where he sat on the floor, leaning against a wall, his hands anxiously mussing his hair. "Dani should have protected them," He said quietly. "This shouldn't have happened."

Just then, the TV flicked on, though there had been no cable since Talpa had taken control. "Hello, Ronin scum!" Dais gloated, his face appearing on screen. The five Ronin leapt to attention, holding weapons and glaring at the screen.

"DAIS!" Ryo shouted furiously, "Where are they?"

"Oh, your little friends are here, nice and safe… Well, they're here, at least," he said with a sneer.

"Bring them back, Dais! They've got nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, I think they do. And I won't be bringing them back. However, if you were to surrender and turn yourselves in, then I think we could work something out."

"Never!" Kento yelled at the TV, clutching his weapon. Ryo put out a hand to silence him.

"How do we even know they're alive?" Ryo asked quietly, fixing his eyes on the glowing image of Dais.

"I thought you might like to see them," Dais said with a wide grin. The camera turned showing Yuli, Mia, and Dani, all trussed up and thrown on a dark floor. Yuli was curled up tightly, unmoving. Mia was lying on the ground, her eyes fixed on the camera. She was bound and gagged, but gave a tiny shake of her head, never breaking eye contact with the screen. Dani, also gagged, gave a quick look in their direction. She blinked once, twice, then looked away. The camera turned back to Dais.

"Oh, and find your sixth little friend, too," he said. "Talpa would like to have a chat with him as well. Well, ta-ta for now!" he gave a sarcastic wave, and then the TV shut itself off.

"DAIS!" Ryo yelled, lunging at the TV and grabbing it. But, of course, Dais was not there. He turned and punched a hole in the wall. The wood splintered inward, creating a _crack_ that resonated through the suddenly silent room. Ryo pulled his arm free, breathing heavily, a few chunks of wood and insulation falling to the floor.

"Let's go kick butt," Kento said automatically. Rowen gave him a sharp look.

"Guys, let's get out of here. This place must be bugged," he muttered, then gestured for the door. They left the apartment building in silence, gathering in an alley two streets over, which Rowen evidently decided was far enough.

"Why didn't she help them?" Kento burst out as soon as they stopped walking. "Why did she let them take them? I thought she had armor! She hadn't even summoned it! I would NEVER let them take me without a fight!"

"She must have had a reason," Sage said coldly, his lips tight.

"Yeah?" demanded Kento, "I bet her reason was that she's on their side! I mean, have we even seen her summon her armor? Anybody? This must be an elaborate trick!"

"No," Ryo said, surprising the others. They looked at him. "If it was a trick, then why would they waste it on getting Mia and Yuli?" Kento looked angry, but Ryo kept speaking before his hot-headed friend could cut him off. "Think about it. She was in our apartment. If she was our enemy, she had every chance to take us out as we slept. She could have cut our throats. Probably could have gotten two or three of us if she was good enough, and that's if she DIDN'T have armor." Ryo looked at Sage, who gave a small nod. "Something isn't right here. I don't know why she didn't summon her armor, but I don't think it's because she's with Talpa. Besides, Dais would have been bragging about it if she was."

"You're right, Ryo," Cye said, nodding agreement. "And more than that – they don't know who she is." His friends looked at him blankly. "She was tied up and gagged, right? Just like Mia and Yuli?"

Sage nodded slowly. "Right. And if they'd caught one of us…"

"They'd need way more than a rope to hold us back!" Kento crowed.

"Yeah, if Talpa knew she was a Ronin, he'd have her locked in metal and covered in guards," Rowen agreed.

"Exactly!" Cye said. "So maybe she's planning something. To attack from within."

"Maybe," Ryo said doubtfully, frowning.

"She can't do it alone; none of us could," Sage said, looking at each of his friends in turn. "So that takes us back to the question. How are we going to get them back?"


	11. A Gentleman's Agreement

Dani's arms screamed in pain from being tied behind her back and pinned underneath her for hours. After Dais had used them to gloat over the Ronin Warriors, they had been transferred to cells deep within the castle, their gags removed. The room she was in was entirely dark, and very, very cold. She shivered, listening intently. She could hear faint scuffles around her, and dearly hoped that they came from Mia or Yuli and not unidentified creatures that liked dark dungeons. She had lain silently for a long time, waiting.

She heard no feet; it didn't seem as if a guard was down here with them. Undoubtedly there was one nearby, though. She struggled to sit up, her arms unable to give her any aid. "Mia?" she whispered. "Are you there?"

"Yes," a quiet voice replied. It seemed like it came from a nearby cell. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Dani answered. "You? Where's Yuli?"

"I'm here," came the answer from farther down. The boy's voice sounded absolutely broken and miserable.

"Are you hurt, Yuli?" Mia inquired, a motherly tone of worry in her voice.

"I guess not," Yuli said. "Not really hurt. I can move." Mia let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. Me too. Dani? Are you ready?"

"Oh, I'm ready," Dani said, a grin spreading over her face. She summoned her protective gear. She felt the familiar weight of the light armor spread across her body, giving her warmth and rejuvenated strength. She stretched out her arms, easily snapping the cords that had bound her, then stood up. She took in a deep breath, shaking out the pain as her arms woke up, feeling the sharp sensation of pins and needles in them. She felt around her, finding the bars at the entrance to her cell. She grasped two of them and pulled them apart, then stepped out of her cell.

A faint glow emanated from far away. She felt around her and found herself to be in a hallway lined by more cells. "Mia?" she whispered again. "Help me find you."

"I'm over here. Follow my voice," came Mia's answer. Using her fingers to guide her along the wall, Dani walked to where the sound came from. She could hear Mia moving around slightly in the cell. Once again, Dani bent the bars apart, then stepped inside. She found Mia and quickly snapped her bonds. "Thank you," Mia said, rubbing her wrists. "Go get Yuli."

Dani nodded. Through the same procedure, she quickly found the young boy and freed him as well. "Thanks Dani!" Yuli said brightly. He seemed to have bounced back quickly from the pain and suffering he had experienced. In fact, he now seemed very excited to be on an adventure.

The three gathered in the dank hallway between the cells. Mia and Yuli were shivering slightly, but Dani was no longer cold in her light armor. "Come on," Dani said. "Let's follow that light."

Together, they picked their way through the hallway, walking slowly to avoid hitting a wall or tripping over things. Yuli kicked something by accident, which skittered across the floor. "What was that?" Yuli asked in surprise. Mia shushed him, and the three froze, listening intently to see if the sound had summoned someone. They relaxed after they heard no new noises.

"I'm sure it was just something someone dropped," Dani said, glancing towards where the object had gone. The growing light was dim, so Dani told herself that she was only imagining the white gleam of a bone. "Let's just keep moving."

A few minutes later, they reached the source of the light - a small, windowed port in a door. Dani squinted against the light, her eyes adjusting, then peered through the round window. "Guards. Two of them," she told Mia and Yuli. "Stand back."

"Be careful," Mia warned her. Dani didn't reply. She briefly considered summoning the Armor of the Tempest, but decided against it. The act of summoning would alert the guards and give them a chance to call the alarm. She glanced behind her to make sure Mia and Yuli were far enough away, took in a deep breath, then kicked the door down. The door crumpled inward, flopping with a loud crash onto the floor. Immediately, the two guards leapt to their feet, but Dani was on them before they could shout. With a few well-aimed attacks, she felled Talpa's two minions.

"Come on," she hissed, waving Mia and Yuli forward. "That door made a lot of noise. We have to get out of here!" They found the door and hurried out of it.

* * *

"TALPA!" Ryo yelled at the great fortress gates, which shimmered in the fading evening light. "Here I am, Talpa!" Behind him stood the other four Ronins, their arms crossed, wearing only the undergear for their armors.

Slowly, as before, the gates rumbled open. Anubis stood there, smirking with pleasure. "Here to turn yourselves in?" he sneered.

"For three civilians?" Ryo asked with a raised eyebrow. "Doesn't seem quite fair."

"Yet here you are," Anubis answered.

"Here we are," Ryo agreed, eyes flashing. "But five wearers of mystical armor for three regular humans? I don't think so." Anubis watched him, considering. "So here's our offer. One Ronin for all three."

"Two," Anubis spat.  
"One," said Ryo firmly, glaring at the dark warlord. Anubis shrugged.

"Stay by a screen tonight, Ronins," he said as the door began to close. "We'll have a special on for you. I like to call it 'Torturing Your Little Friends.' I think you'll enjoy it quite a lot."

"Wait!" Sage snapped, stepping forward. "Two. I'll go, too." Ryo turned and gave Sage a withering, furious glare, but said nothing.

"Ah," Anubis said with a smile. The door stopped moving. "Very well, then." He turned his gaze to Ryo. "Let me guess. It's you and Wildfire, am I correct?"

"You are," Ryo said, voice angry as he still looked at Sage.

"Wonderful," Anubis said with a smile. "Come in, then." Without glancing back at their friends, Ryo and Sage stepped through the door into Talpa's fortress. Immediately, they were surrounded. The two boys didn't fight as soldiers yanked their arms behind their backs and snapped thick, metal handcuff devices on them. "Undoubtedly, you have a plan of rescue and escape, right?" Anubis asked them. "Don't try it. You will lose. Besides, remember that we still have your little friends hidden away. I'd hate to have to hurt them."

"Don't you dare," Ryo hissed. Anubis shrugged, a smile dancing on his face.

"We do have three, after all. We only anticipated two, so that means that at least one is expendable."

Sage made to lunge at him, but was held back by guards. Anubis laughed. "You are powerless here, Halo."

"You need to release them," Ryo said firmly. "That was the deal."

"Oh, that. Yes, we will get around to it." He waved nonchalantly. "However, I'm confused. Where is your friend? The purple one? Talpa is very, _very_ eager to have a chat with him." Sage and Ryo looked resolutely forward, not making eye contact with one another.

"We don't know. He doesn't stay with us." Ryo said

"Pity," Anubis said. "Well, I'm afraid we can't release your friends until he is found."

"What?" Ryo demanded, nearly spitting with anger. "That wasn't the deal!"

"Consider the deal changed," Anubis said with a shrug. He looked at the goons. "Take them away." The green armored soldiers poked and prodded the two Ronins, leading them away.

"You won't get away with this!" Sage snapped. "There are still four of us out there."

"We will see," Anubis replied, his smile never faltering.


	12. In the Castle

Dani was very surprised to find their path mostly clear. Every once in a while, they would find guards in groups of two or three, once in a group of four. With her armor, which she had summoned soon after leaving the dungeon, Dani was able to dispatch them fairly easily. She started to get nervous. She expected this escape to be much more difficult, if not impossible. Where were the guards?

As this thought crossed her mind, a soldier turned around the approaching bend in the hallway. Their eyes met. Dani lunged towards him, but was too far away. The guard turned and ran, bellowing an alarm. "Time to move!" Dani called back to Mia and Yuli, their element of surprise lost. Together, the three sprinted down the hallway.

* * *

"My lord!" Cale gasped, practically running into Talpa's chamber. Both Sekhmet and Dais turned their eyes to him, giving him haughty looks for his interruption. Cale ignored them. "We just got a report! The Tempest is inside the fortress! He is with the girl and child!"

 **"What?"** Talpa demanded, his angry voice shaking the room. **"Capture him!"**

"That's impossible," Dais scoffed at Cale. "How could he have gotten inside the fortress and all the way to the dungeons without being caught? The alarm would have been raised!"

"The girl and child?" Sekhmet asked, sounding almost nervous. "You meant, two girls and the child, correct?"

"No," Cale said, shaking his head. "Report was clear. One girl and child."

There was a long silence in the room as that sank in. Finally, Talpa began to laugh, the sound echoing all throughout the large chamber. He turned his angry eyes to Dais.

 **"You captured a Ronin Warrior,"** he stated simply. **"You captured a Ronin Warrior. AND DID NOT EVEN REALIZE IT?"** The Emperor of the Dynasty's rage was palpable. The room shook, chunks of stone falling to the floor around the Warlords. Dais fell to his knees in a subservient position, one knee under him and one before, his head bowed.

"I did not - How was I to know that this one was a girl?" he whined, keeping his eyes averted from Talpa's furious glare. "None of the others are girls!"

 **"Find her,"** Talpa hissed, " **Find her, and I will consider sparing your life."** Together, the three warlords saluted Talpa by placing a fist across their heart, then rushed from the room.

* * *

Sage and Ryo found themselves in an exceedingly secure room. Their arms, legs, and head were latched into reinforced metal restraints. A large number of guards were in the room with them, though Ryo found he could not move his head to count them. He suspected that even more were outside.

"Great going, Sage," Ryo said sarcastically to his nearby friend. Though he knew Sage was there, he could not see him. "Now we're both caught." Sage didn't answer, but Ryo knew that he had heard him.

Ryo heard the sound of the door opening, practically crashing into the wall it was opened with such force. Anubis' face appeared in Ryo's vision.

"So," he said, narrowing his eyes and hissing. "You thought you could trick us. Well, we figured it out,"

"Figured what out?" Ryo snapped.

"There's more than meets the eye to your little friend," Anubis snarled. "I'll be sure to thank her for coming straight to Talpa. Saves us the trouble."

Ryo rolled his eyes. "What _are_ you talking about?" Anubis looked furious.

"Play dumb, then. It matters not." He turned and stalked from the room, the door shutting firmly behind him. Ryo sighed and blew some of his hair out of his eyes.

* * *

"ARMOR OF THE TEMPEST," a deep voice boomed throughout the entire fortress. Dani, Mia, and Yuli all froze, looking around. "WE KNOW YOU ARE HERE. YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT WE HAVE CUSTODY OF TWO OF YOUR FRIENDS." Dani glanced back at Mia and Yuli, wondering how the Dynasty could believe her to be so foolish.

Around them, a vision suddenly appeared. In the air, Dani could see Sage and Ryo walking into the fortress and being dragged away. "Ryo!" Yuli cried out in horror, attempting to reach out and touch the image of the red warrior. His hand simply passed through the floating image.

"WILDFIRE AND HALO HAVE BEEN CAPTURED TRYING TO HELP YOU. WILL YOU LET THEM SUFFER FOR YOU?" The image vanished and voice died, leaving the three companions feeling very alone and exposed.

"We have to help them!" Mia cried, looking to Dani. Dani turned to her.

"No, _I_ need to help them. We still need to get you and Yuli out of here," she answered. Mia looked about to argue, but realized that Dani was right. She and Yuli would only be a hindrance. Mia nodded. The three companions hurried along. Yuli no longer looked as if he were enjoying this adventure, his small face creased with worry.

* * *

Dani yanked her arrows from the crushed armor of her fallen enemies, returning them to her quiver. She turned to the large metal gate set into the wall, which the soldiers had been protecting. With a deep breath, she pulled it open and was rewarded by a rush of chilly night air.

"This is it!" She turned to Mia and Yuli. "You have to go!"

"Is it safe?" Yuli asked in a small voice, peering out at the dark city.

"I'll watch you," Dani responded, holding up the bow. "Get out of here. Find the others. I have some business to attend to." Mia nodded, giving the younger girl a long look.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. She looked at the younger girl, clad in her dark purple armor, and felt suddenly guilty for the way she had treated Dani. She opened her mouth to speak, but found no words that were adequate. Instead she gave Dani a nod, then pushed Yuli forward. Together, the two civilians hurried from the fortress. Dani watched them until they disappeared into a side street, an arrow notched in her bow.

* * *

Rowen looked down at his watch. "It's time," he said grimly to his two companions. They stood atop a building, looking out at the fortress of the Dynasty. Cye nodded.

"Let's do it." The three focused their energies, imagining Ryo of the Wildfire. Arcs of light left their bodies, streaking towards the palace and inside. Rowen, Cye, and Kento stood staring at the palace, as if waiting for something to happen.

"Hey... What's that?" Kento said suddenly, pointing at the ground. Far below them, they could make out two figures moving fast.

"Dunno… Let's find out," Rowen answered. He leapt from the side of the building, landing on one knee. The two figures spun around as first he, then Kento and Cye smashed into the asphalt, the white tiger following behind them.

"Mia!" Cye said in shock. "Yuli!" Mia and Yuli, yelping out their excitement, ran to the three Ronins and hugged them tightly.

"Is it true? Are Ryo and Sage inside?" Mia asked in a rush, pulling back and looking at Rowen.

"Yes. How did you get out if you didn't see them? Where's Dani?"

"She saved us," Mia said grimly. "But she went back in to help Ryo."

"Dammit," Kento muttered. "This would have gone a lot better if we'd just…" Cye cut him off, shaking his head.

"Everything is going according to plan," he told Kento. "We had to cause a distraction to give them a better chance to escape. We just have to wait."

Yuli looked up at his older friends, his arms wrapped around White Blaze's neck. "Will Ryo be okay?" Rowen squatted next to the boy and ruffled his hair.

"C'mon, Yuli! It's Ryo! Plus, he's got Sage and Dani. Who in the Dynasty could take them on?"

* * *

Ryo felt the familiar rush of power and energy and smiled. "Sage, it's time," he said. A moment later, he felt Sage's armor and lifeforce join with his. Ryo closed his eyes and focused on the Armor of the Inferno. It was harder to call without being able to move his arms, but still possible. The white armor appeared, along with the two Swords of Fervor on his back. Ryo grinned. The power of the Inferno Armor pumped through him, making him feel as if his entire body hummed with pent up energy. He jerked his arms, breaking the restraints. While those restraints would have held down a regular Ronin armor, they were no match for the Inferno. He stood up, grinning wildly at the soldiers that filled the room. "Time to play."


	13. Rage of Inferno

Dani ran down the long, empty hallway, her sword drawn and at the ready. Talpa's cronies were looking for her now, she knew. She hoped she would be able to find Ryo and Sage before the entirety of the Dynasty fell down upon her.

"There she is!" a voice cried. She whirled and saw Cale, his nodachi drawn. He was followed by a squadron of green goons. She raised her sword to the ready position, bracing her feet. Cale slashed down at her, creating a loud ring as his steel met hers. She held her sword firm, her muscles braced against his attack. While she was occupied, the goons swarmed her, slashing and attacking her from all sides. Dani tried to back away, pushing Cale's sword to the side. She elbowed a goon in the throat, slashing at the chest of another.

"There's no escape," Cale said with a smile. "We've got you surrounded!" It was true. With Cale in front of her and the soldiers around her, the situation was shaping up to be an ugly one. She lashed out again, but Cale caught her sword with his, then, quick as a snake, moved in and flipped her sword away from her body. She heard it clatter against the floor, then saw a soldier pick it up and move away.

She drew her bow and arrows, quickly notching one and sending it shooting at the chest of a goon. She hardly needed time to aim, since they were on top of her. The goon crumpled and fell with a sound of air whooshing out of the empty armor. Before she could notch another, a sword connected with her hands, then lashed at the bowstring. The _snap_ of the bowstring breaking sounded as loud to Dani as a hammer landing on steel. With the breaking of her bow, her last vestige of hope for survival fled.

Even so, she glared Cale down. She was surprised that her enemies were just standing there, surrounding her. Weaponless, they could have taken her down by now, but still they stood.

"Kill me then," she said flippantly, her heart pounding in her chest. Though she would like to pretend otherwise, the concept of dying was still very unnerving.

"We don't want to kill you," Cale said. "Actually, Talpa is very interested in meeting you."

"Meeting me?" Dani asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Why?"

"I'll let him discuss it with you," Cale replied. With a nod from him, the goons surrounding her grabbed her arms, with the one who carried her sword also relieving her of her broken bow.

Dani relaxed her arms and led them march her down the hallway. After a few minutes – when the goons had relaxed just a tiny bit – she jerked her right arm from their grasp, snatched an arrow from her quiver, and stuck it through the eye socket of the nearest solider before any could react. She spun, yanking her other arm free as she did so, then sent a high kick into the chest of a second goon, who crashed backwards into the wall. She slammed the arrow into another eye socket, but then the arrow shattered in her hands. Before she could move to take another, she found Cale's nodachi at her throat.

"Now, girl, be good," he purred. "Talpa may want you alive for now, but you know you aren't getting away." He flashed a smile that practically made Dani's bones shiver in fear. "But once he's done with you, you'll be mine." He sheathed his sword as the remaining goons again latched on to Dani.

When Talpa's soldiers pulled her away this time, she could not find the will to fight back.

* * *

Anubis' sickle crashed into Ryo's chest that it sent him flying backwards. Ryo hit the ground hard, the metal of his armor squealing against the floor as he slid. His upper back and head connecting with the floor. Ryo felt his breath leave him in a rush, his lungs scream in pain, and his head begin to swim. Still, he rose quickly, grasping the Swords of Fervor with arms that were beginning to tremble with exertion.

"Sage!" he cried out desperately, looking around. All he could see around him were furious enemies. Some were running towards him in a feverish bloodlust, but not all. Chaos reigned in this gargantuan, echoing chamber of the fortress. Ryo looked around again, the sides of his helmet impeding his vision. "Sage!" he cried again as Anubis descended upon him once more, swinging his weapon by the chain. "We have to find them and get out of here! Sage! Where are you?"

"I'm here!" came Sage's muffled voice from somewhere to the left. Ryo felt a surge of relief, even as he had to block Anubis' blow with his swords. The clamor of battle from that direction told Ryo that his friend was deep in a fight, but at least he was alive. Anubis yanked free, then spun. He faked a blow with his sickle and kicked powerfully at Ryo's chest with his left leg. Ryo grunted, falling back a few paces. "Here we go," he muttered after he gained his balance. He took in a deep breath. Ryo held his twin swords out to his side, glaring at Anubis as the Warlord approached again, then crossed the two blades. _"Rage…. Of… INFERNO!"_

* * *

A sudden light bloomed within the castle. The ball of light grew to the size of an elephant, bursing through walls and ceilings. Wood and stone rubble flew to the sky, then clattered to the ground and ceilings around it. Meanwhile, a thick stream of fiery red energy connected with Talpa's front door. The doors bent and crackled in the heat. The gold inlay melted on contact, running in thick streams down the towering doors. From somewhere within, otherworldly screams of pain rose in a crescendo before slowly dying away.

"That's our cue!" Rowen announced. He turned to Mia and Yuli. "Stay hidden! We'll be back for you!" Mia nodded and ushered Yuli into the office building that the three Ronin had been standing upon, running with him to hide deep in the recesses. With a growl, White Blaze bounded after them as their ever-loyal guardian.

The three boys took off at a run, heading straight towards the mangled gates. As they ran, they could feel their armors reconnecting with them. It gave them renewed energy and fervor, helping them leap through the mangled gates, summoning their armor as they went.

* * *

Sekhmet entered Talpa's chamber alone. "My lord," he greeted, saluting Talpa again. "We have the Tempest. She is being held in your antechamber."

 **"Very good,"** Talpa responded, sounding very pleased. **"And the others?"** Sekhmet paused.

"The girl and child have escaped."

 **"No matter. We have what we wanted."** Talpa's words were dismissive, but they still held an edge of annoyance.

The door burst open again. Cale entered quickly, giving only a hasty salute to Talpa. "My lord, Halo and Wildfire broke free. They are fighting Anubis. Wildfire is wearing the Inferno armor."

 **"As I expected. You four weak fools are incapable of capturing these boys who waltz into your gates."** Talpa's voice dripped with disgust.

"I will take care of them for you, my lord," Sekhmet said smoothly, shooting a glare at Cale from the corners of his eyes. "It will be my pleasure."

 **"No."**

"My… my lord?" Sekhmet questioned, his eyebrows coming together in surprise.

 **"Send in Dais. And then bring me that girl."**


	14. The Storm Within

Rowen, Kento, and Cye burst into the battle, their weapons at the ready. They wasted no time in joining Sage and Ryo, who were already greatly weakened.

"Mia and Yuli are safe!" Cye cried out over the din of battle as he slashed and blocked his opponents. Anubis lay nearby, presumably unconscious, hit by the full force of Ryo's ultimate move. Across his chest and right side, his armor was blackened by the blow and smoke rose from his cloth covering, which smoldered on. "They got out already!"

"What about Dani?" Sage yelled back, spinning around to kick a goon hard in the chest.

"Still in here!"

"Guys… Our friends are here!" Kento called out. Sage looked up to see both Sekhmet and Cale, clad in their armor, appearing at the edge of battle from somewhere deeper within the fortress.

"We gotta get out!" Ryo shouted, his voice, reaching them even over the grunts of pain and calls of fury from the soliders. "Move!"

"No! We can't leave without Dani!" Sage responded hotly. He grunted as he took a hard blow to the chest from a soldier's blade, stumbling back a step. His breath was becoming increasingly labored, his reflexes and attacks slowing considerably.

"We'll need to split up and look for her!" came Ryo's voice again, "Kento, Cye, you guys-"

"Wait! Look!" This was Rowen's voice. Sage looked around desperately to see what Rowen was speaking about. He caught sight of the dark blue armored arm, flung out to point towards the gates.

He saw it. A flash of dark purple climbing over the wreckage of the great doors, fleeing from the fortress. "Dani!" he cried. He turned, abandoning his opponent and weaving through the soldiers, trying to reach the girl. "Dani!" She didn't turn.

"Let's get outta here!" Kento screamed. Sage turned back towards the battle. Sekhmet and Cale stood watching, not moving to help the minions, but their weapons were ready. Following Kento's sage advice, the five warriors began battling their way back towards the gates.

Cye thrust his trident forward, penetrating the armor of a green solider. Immediately, the light faded from the creature's eyes and the armor went limp. Cye shook the metal free from his trident. "Where'd she go?" he wondered aloud. By this time, the Ronin Warriors were backed up together, nearly at the gate. They stood in a circle, facing out, fighting together. "Why did she leave without us?"

Sage shook his head, stepping backwards with his friends, inching towards the doors. "I don't know. We need to make sure she is all right. She might be hurt."

"Agh!" Kento cried out in pain as he took a blow to the face. A solider moved to take advantage of his moment of weakness, but Cye intercepted, blocking the blow with his trident. "Thanks, man," Kento grunted.

"Go!" Ryo shouted. Together, the five Ronin turned and leapt over the rubble of the entrance doors, fleeing the battle. Still, Sekhmet and Cale watched, not moving to attack or stop the warriors.

Rowen looked over his shoulder as they ran. "They don't seem to be following," he reported, relief apparent in his tone.

"Once again, Talpa's twerps can't take the heat!" Kento said with a grin. "Hey! There's Dani!" He waved and motioned. Sure enough, there stood the purple Armor of the Tempest about two blocks away. The figure was still, but clearly looking in their direction as the Ronin turned and sprinted towards her. Sage squinted, but her face was masked entirely in shadow. Without a word or any other form of acknowledgement, she turned and disappeared down the street that formed a junction with the road the Ronin were on.

"Dani! Hey! Wait!" Sage called after her in confusion, hurrying to the intersection. He reached it a second before his comrades and stopped still, looking around. He could not see Dani anywhere.

"Where'd she go?" Rowen asked in surprise as he reached his friend.

"Why did she run?" Kento demanded. He looked over his shoulder, just to make sure there wasn't a terrible enemy behind him.

"Something must be wrong. We need to go after her," Sage said.

"Where are Mia and Yuli?" Ryo asked his teammates. "We need to make sure they are safe!"

After a minute of discussion, the warriors decided to split up. Ryo, Kento, and Cye went back to collect Mia and Yuli, while Rowen and Sage tried to find Dani. They decided to meet back at the United Bank building two blocks away from their apartment. The apartments were clearly no longer safe, but they wanted to be nearby in case that's where Dani went.

* * *

Two guards issued Dani into Talpa's inner chambers, one latched onto either arm. Though she was quaking on the inside, feeling fear rush through her mind and body, she refused to show it. She resolutely kept her head up, looking in front of her.

The majority of the chamber was pitch black, lit only by a few candles halfway between Dani and Talpa himself. The sight of Talpa turned Dani's knees to jelly. In that moment, she was grateful for the two soldiers carrying her weight. If they had not been, she would have fallen to her knees.

Talpa was not a man, as she had supposed. He was not some high and mighty king on a throne. Instead, he appeared as a huge apparition, towering above her even from across the room. Only his head appeared, from the base of his neck to the top of his great, wrought iron headdress. His face – Dani shuddered as she looked upon it – contained no trace of humanity. It appeared to be made out of solid metal somehow, his great mouth gaping open in a frozen growl. His eyes were empty, devoid of all life. Like his mouth, they were only pools of darkness. His hair, ghastly white, flowed thickly to where his shoulders should have been.

The soldiers let go of her suddenly as they reached the candles. Dani collapsed to her knees and could not find the willpower or courage to climb to her feet. She did, however, turn her gaze upwards to meet the empty gaze of the apparition before her. The soldiers stepped back into the darkness.

 **"I have been waiting for you, girl."** Talpa's voice seemed to come not from the gaping mouth, but instead from all around her.

Dani swallowed hard. _Act confident,_ she told herself. _Pretend. Just pretend._ "What do you want from me?"

 **"I have waited for you so that you could join me."**

Dani almost spat with shock. "What?"

 **"It is destiny, child. You will join me."**

"No way am I joining you!"

 **"You will."**

Dani felt tempted to scream _'Will not!'_ but realized that would seem childish. "What makes you think I would ever join you?"

 **"I am a part of you."**

Dani felt fury surge through her system. She leapt to her feet and glared at the giant head floating before her. "You, little man behind the curtain, are definitely not a part of me!"

 **"But I am. Tell me, why have you not fully bonded with the Ronin Warriors? Why did you not join them as soon as you arrived?"**

Dani felt the fight exit her system in a rush, leaving her feeling suddenly empty. She sank back to her knees. That question. Why that question? Why the one she could not seem to answer herself. "I… I wanted to earn their trust first."

 **"No. You did not join them because you did not want to. You knew you did not belong with them."**

Dani stared blankly forward, her eyes glazing, the lines of Talpa's cruel metal face blurring in her vision. She did not answer him. She could not answer him. Was he right?

 **"Five Ronin Warriors, Five Warlords. The balance between the sides of light and darkness always have a way of balancing themselves."**

"No," Dani whispered, almost to herself. Then, louder, "No. It doesn't matter. I've joined them now."

 **"And do they accept you?"**

"Of… Of course!" she said, not entirely convinced.

Before her, suddenly, a large vision appeared, just as it had in the hallway when she was with Mia and Yuli. In this vision, she could see the five Ronin Warriors, their backs almost together, fighting off soldiers. Then, all together, they turned and fled he castle. The vision continued as they ran down the street, putting more and more distance between themselves and the fortress. Dani could only watch, feeling helpless and alone, as a green-clad figure pulled ahead of the others, sprinting faster down the street. He did not look back.

 **"They left you."** Talpa's words echoed in the empty chamber.

"I would have told them to," Dani said, speaking around a large lump in her throat. "They shouldn't be in danger for me. I would have told them to leave."

 **"Do you truly believe that if it were Ryo of the Wildfire standing before me that his friends would have left?"**

 _No._ The resolute answer screamed itself in her brain. _No. No. They never would have left Ryo. Or Kento. Or Cye. Or Rowen. Or Sage. But they left me._ She could not find the words to answer Talpa. Her mouth felt dry. Her confidence, even fake, had left her.

 **"Answer me now. Are you ready to join the Dynasty?"**

* * *

"Dani!"

"Dani! Where are you?"

Sage and Rowen searched for over an hour, but found no trace of the Tempest warrior. The first rays of the morning light pierced the dark sky, beginning to illuminate the streets. The lights showed nothing except for abandoned cars, an overturned trash bin, and rotten bags of groceries that had been dropped when Talpa's forces descended.

Finally, Rowen turned to his friend. "Hey, man, I think we need to go back. She probably went back to the apartments." Sage faced Rowen. Red veins had appeared in his eyes, along with dark circles. The night's events had wiped him of every last ounce of energy.

"Something's not right. We have to find her."

Rowen shrugged. "I mean, she did kinda yank our chains for weeks, hiding and all. Maybe she's just pulling that again, you know?"

Sage felt a rush of fury and opened his mouth to respond, but bit back his retort. He took in a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh. "Yeah. Maybe."

* * *

"I don't understand, my lord. Why did we let the Ronin escape?"

 **"You question me, Cale?"**

"No, my lord. Of course not, my lord. I just wonder why we let the perfect opportunity to smash our enemies slip through our fingers."

 **"Dais' illusion and the departure of the Ronin did everything I wanted it to do. You are incapable of grasping the greater plan."**

"No, my lord."

 **"Trust me, Cale. Everything is going according to plan."**


	15. The Storm Rages

The morning sun pierced the clouds, sending a hazy half-light through the abandoned city. Dani stood in the middle of the street, gazing resolutely at a single spot on the crumbling building in front her. The building, a proud, strong structure not long before, had seen a battle. Bricks on the side of the building nearest her were crumbling, falling into piles on the street, while the roof sagged sharply to one side. Undoubtedly, this is where the Ronin Warriors had clashed with Talpa's forces at some point in recent history.

The Ronin Warriors. The five Ronin Warriors. What were they doing? Were they safe? Did Mia and Yuli make it home safely?

 _They left you._

Yes. Yes, they had. But surely only because of the danger they were in; because they had to think of Mia and Yuli and the inhabitants of the entire city, who were still imprisoned in the Netherworld by Talpa. They could not sacrifice themselves just for her. They had to think of the greater good

She wondered what they were doing. Were they sleeping in? Were they out on a normal patrol? Were they battling Talpa now? Were they back at the park, playing baseball and laughing, completely unfazed by her disappearance? Did they care at all?

In her head, Dani saw the vision Talpa had shown her, the one of the Ronin Warriors abandoning her. She saw how they ran up the street without hesitation. She saw how Sage led the way.

 _I am a part of you._

She had thought she was afraid to join the five because they would not trust her. Was that true? Maybe partially. In truth, she had felt loathe to join them because she knew in her heart that they would not accept her. Possibly, she supposed, because she really did not belong with them. Maybe she was always destined to be a Warlord after all. That was why she had felt that way, even before she knew.

He had let her go. He let her walk right out of the crumpled front gates and down the street. **"You may not be ready yet, but you will be soon."** The sound echoed in her head and heart, over and over again. _You may not be ready yet, but you will be soon._

She thought of love. Love was her virtue. She loved this city, right?

Well, no. Not this city. This wasn't her city; she hadn't grown up here. She hadn't even been here when Talpa attacked. Instead, she had to travel here, the power of her armor drawing her to this point. But had it brought her here to help save the city… or to help Talpa?

And then there was power. Talpa had promised her power. Though she would never admit it, a part of her surged with joy at the idea of having the authority and influence to bend others to her will. She loved the strength that her armor gave her, loved the control she felt while wearing it.

And it's not as if she was tied to any specific person through love. It had been a possibility, but…

 _He didn't look back._

A sound from down the street snapped Dani out of her reverie. She thought she heard the murmurs of a conversation floating in the empty, otherwise silent air of the once bustling city. No matter who was coming, she decided, she was not interested in having a run-in. She crept around the crumpled building, and, feeling ashamed, knelt behind a dumpster. Whatever was in the dumpster had been there for long enough to become quite ripe. The instant the smell hit Dani's nostrils, her stomach roiled. She held her nose, attempting not to breathe at all. The smell was so pungent that it laid thickly on her tongue.

The sounds came closer, turning a corner. The voices grew louder, but not loud enough for her to understand. The owners of them kept their voices low. She heard only snatches.

"Where… gone… Games… Sage… worried… Talpa."

She desperately strained her ears, but could not make out the words. As the walkers passed, she crept out from the other side of the dumpster and peered around the corner. She saw two figures, one orange and one light blue. Kento and Cye.

Dani imagined herself walking out from around the building and calling out to them. She wondered how they would react. Would they be surprised she survived? Would they be happy at all? Would they even care? _Of course they'd be happy,_ she told herself. _They left because it was the right thing to do, not because they wanted rid of you._

That rang hollow even as she thought it. She had been fighting with the Ronin Warriors for weeks now. Never once had she seen one of them turn a back to their comrades. Rather, the warriors had put themselves into incredible danger to help each other. She knew without a doubt that they never would have left one of their own in Talpa's clutches – but it seemed that "one of their own" did not include her.

 _They knew you didn't belong._

The whispered voice in her head crept, snake-like, through all of her thoughts. She could not ignore it. Dani watched, frozen, as the armored figures grew smaller and smaller as they drew farther from where she still crouched.

* * *

"We have to find her."

"Sage, please, Kento and Cye are out looking now. Please rest. You know you'll need it." That was Mia's voice. She sat learning against a wall in the United Bank building that they had temporarily made their base, Yuli asleep with his head in her lap. Ryo stood protectively near her. He seemed unwilling to leave Mia and Yuli alone even for a minute.

Sage blew out a frustrated breath. He and Rowen had just returned from another round of searching, having returned in hopes that she had already been found. Rowen was already sound asleep, laid out across some cushioned chairs from the customer waiting area. Sage's body felt exhausted, but his mind was spinning in many different directions.

" Listen, Sage," Ryo said quietly, "We know that you care for her. We're doing everything we can. You need to rest. We will need you at full strength if something else happens." Slowly, Sage nodded. He moved to one of the chairs that Rowen had not claimed and sat down. He felt a surge of relief in his muscles at the respite.

A sound from outside made Sage jump to his feet again. The door opened and Kento and Cye entered, each looking worn out and discouraged. "No sign of her," Cye said as soon as he entered. Everyone awake in the room let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Where could she have gone?" Ryo wondered.

"Truth is, man, she could be anywhere. She could be holed up in literally any building. If she doesn't want to be found, it'd be like looking for a needle in a very, very large haystack," Kento answered.

"She must be hurt. She may be laying somewhere dying," Sage said.

"Well, yeah," Cye said, but did not sound convinced. "But then why did she run away from us?"

Nobody seemed to have a good answer for that.

"My guess? She's fine. She just decided to pull another lone wolf number on us," Kento said. "If she wants to come back, she'll come back."

"Well, we will keep looking for her," Ryo said firmly with a quick glance to Sage. "She saved Mia and Yuli. We owe her that much."

Mia nodded. "I don't know what happened in there, but she got us out and then went back in for you guys. If she did run off, something must have changed."

"Is it possible that Talpa nabbed her again?" Cye wondered aloud.

"Maybe," Ryo said, "But that wouldn't explain her looking at us and then disappearing." The room fell quiet, the silence broken only by the sounds of Rowen's light snoring.

"I'm going to go get some air," said Sage, abruptly walking from the room." His friends watched him go, all wishing they could find words that would give him comfort.

Sage left the building, walking into the bright light of the early afternoon. He turned and walked the two blocks towards their previous home, hoping desperately that he would find Dani there. "Hey, wait up!" a voice called from behind him. Sage turned and saw Cye jogging towards him.

"Gotta make sure you aren't going to do something stupid," Cye said with a wide grin. Sage smiled faintly back at him, grateful for the company. Together, they reached the apartments and climbed up the stairs. "Dani?" Cye called as they reached the third floor landing. "You here?"

No answer came. They searched the two apartments that the Ronin had lived in but found them empty. The friends walked to each floor, calling the name of the Tempest warrior, but found no trace.

"Maybe Kento's right," Sage said after they finished the final floor. "Maybe she just didn't want to join us."

"We'll find her," Cye assured his friend, unable to find the will to say that Kento was wrong. "One way or another. We'll find her."

* * *

Dani walked right up to the great red and gold gates. They were completely intact, glittering bright in the afternoon sun, as if the Ronin attack on the fortress had never happened. She looked up at them, feeling awed by the sheer power.

"I'm ready," she said without raising her voice.

The doors opened.

She stepped inside.


	16. Dark Warlord of Revenge

The Ronin waited a week before they finally left the bank building, its hard floor, and uncomfortable chairs in favor of a new apartment complex five miles away. They all moved into the same unit. Though none said it out loud, they were all loathe to separated from one another. After the recent events, all seven of them wanted to remain as close as possible. The apartment they chose was sparsely decorated – likely a bachelor pad.

The apartment only had three bedrooms, so Mia and Yuli shared one, Sage and Rowen another, while Ryo, Kento, and Cye all occupied the last, though Ryo was more likely to be found in the living room, sleeping in a recliner near the door that led to the master bedroom where Mia and Yuli stayed, White Blaze curled at his feet.

The warriors resumed normal patrols, taking shifts to explore the city and track Talpa's movements. Usually patrols consisted of two members, with at least one person remaining behind at the apartment to serve as guardian to Mia and Yuli. Though none of them spoke a word about it, each patrol ending up passing the apartment where they had stayed with Dani, checking to see if she had finally appeared.

"Ya know," Rowen said as he and Cye walked past that very building, breaking a long silence, "She's probably dead." This patrol, like all others the past week, had been very quiet. None of Talpa's troops had been found anywhere.

"Don't talk like that, Rowen," Cye responded. "I'm sure she's all right."

Rowen gave Cye a disapproving look. "You really think that? I mean, I wouldn't say this to Sage, since he's so obviously wound up about it, but c'mon. It's been over a week and we haven't found a trace."

Cye didn't answer, his lips pursed. The boys trudged on slowly, feeling discouraged and downtrodden. They walked for another hour, working their way through the city streets and back towards home.

"Look," Cye hissed suddenly. Rowen quickly followed his gaze upwards to see a shadowed figure standing atop a nearby building.

"Let's go," Rowen said, looking suddenly reenergized at the prospect of a fight. Together, the two Ronin climbed to the top of the building by leaping between walls. Cye hit the top first, landing in a crouch, words forming in his throat to summon his armor. They died almost immediately.

"Dani!" he said with a gasp as he got a better look at the form. She stood, wearing the full Armor of the Tempest, facing them, her green eyes unreadable. "Dani!" he cried again as joy blossomed in him. As Rowen landed on the roof beside him, Cye ran forward and threw his arms around the armored girl, their respective armors clicking together. Dani did not react. "Where have you been? We've been so worried!" Rowen hurried up beside the two, a huge grin on his face.

Dani pulled away from Cye and took a step back. Her mouth opened to speak, but another voice cut them off.

"I see you've already met our Dark Warlord of Revenge," the voice called laughingly. "Good! I've never been good at introductions." Cye whirled, his lips slightly parted in confusion. Sekhmet stood just yards away, his arms crossed over his chest, looking smugly towards the Ronin. Cye looked at him, his mind blank as he attempted to process the Warlord's words. He turned back to Dani to ask what Sekhmet meant, then stopped. He could only stare as the armored girl met his eyes and slowly drew her sword from its sheathe on her back, the scraping of metal on metal the only sound.

"Dani?" Rowen asked, sounding utterly confused. "What's going on?"

Dani, the Dark Warlord of Revenge, said nothing. Instead, she widened her stance and moved her sword to the ready position. Sekhmet laughed. "Oh, that's right!" he exclaimed, feigning surprise. "You thought she was one of yours! Seems not. She has seen the light and come over to our side."

"Is that true?" Rowen asked Dani, bewilderment and worry coloring his voice. "Dani, if something's going on, we can help you."

"There's nothing going on," Dani spat at him, sounding angry. "This is my decision. This is where I belong." With that, she rushed forward, raised her sword, and swiped downward towards Rowen's head. Still in shock, the wearer of the Strata armor was barely able to move out of the way in time, raising his arm to fend off the blow. The sword landed heavily, making a resounding crack as it connected with his arm.

Cye jumped towards Rowen, grabbing him and rolling him out of the way as Dani attacked again. "Armor of the Torrent, Dao Shin!" He leapt out of the way as Dani moved forward again, her sword a silver blur as she slashed at his legs. Rowen scrambled out of the way, summoning his own armor while Sekhmet watched and laughed. Cye felt the familiar weight of his armor materializing on his body even as he reached for his trident. The weapon appeared just as his fingers closed around the shaft. He whipped it out just in time to deflect yet another blow from the Tempest warrior.

"What happened to you?" Cye demanded, speaking loudly over the sound of their weapons colliding. "What changed?"

"Nothing changed," the Tempest warrior. "I just realized what I was meant for." She thrust her sword to the left, the metal a silver blur, then spun it around to her right to collide with Cye's side. He let out of a grunt of pain and faltered slightly, but not long enough for her to press the advantage. He replied with a quick thrust of his own, connecting with the torso of the plum armor and forcing the wearer back two steps. He could see Rowen, bow drawn, taking aim at Dani from behind.

"This is not what you're meant for," Cye said, talking to distract the girl. "You're one of us. You're supposed to help save this city, not destroy it."

Dani opened her mouth to reply, but Rowen loosed the arrow. It connected solidly with Dani's left shoulder, punching through armor and burrowing deep into the flesh. Dani let out a surprised cry of pain and reeled, stumbling to a knee.

Cye rushed forward, taking advantage of her weakness, but Sekhmet, moving at blinding speed, leapt between them and met Cye's blow with his katana, the two swords meeting in an X shape to block. Dani jumped to her feet and rushed towards Rowen. Rowen loosed another arrow, but Dani slashed it out of the way with her weapon, then stabbed forward. Strata used his bow to block, coming up from underneath to knock the sword's point harmlessly out of the way.

Cye dragged his eyes away from the battle between the Tempest and Strata, returning his gaze to his own enemy. Sekhmet slashed furiously from all directions, both arms attacking fervently. Cye could barely keep up, moving the shaft of his trident to block all incoming attacks. He was entirely on the defensive, stepping backwards to retreat from Sekhmet's blows. He saw no opportunity to go offensive. Cye felt sweat drip down his face and blinked quickly to keep it from his eyes. He could not help but feel a twinge of fear as Sekhmet continued to flash his blades, pushing Cye father and farther from where Rowen battled Dani.

A sudden crashing sound drew both Cye and Sekhmet's attention. A dozen yards away, Rowen was flat on his back, looking up at Dani. Dani raised her sword.

"NO!" Cye screamed, fear flooding his body. He pushed past Sekhmet, who was also watching the other pair, and sprinted towards Rowen. As Dani's sword reached its apex of its strike, Cye knew was a gut-wrenching certainty that he would not make it in time. He pumped his legs faster, faster, but still it was not enough. The sword began to lower, and then…

It paused.

It was only for a moment, but it was enough. Cye crashed into Dani, full-on tackling the girl. Together they crashed into the rooftop, Dani's sword clattering to the concrete. Cye quickly leapt to his feet, aided by sheer adrenaline while Dani suffered from shock. He spun and pointed his trident. Sekhmet was racing towards them and Dani was climbing to her feet, her fingers already latched on her sword hilt. She was moving slowly, her left arm hanging loosely, the arrow still protruding from her shoulder. Blood dripped around it, streaks of red chasing in rivulets down the back of her armor.

"Super wave smasher!" Cye cried. Energy and water droplets, drawn from the air around them, gathered around the tip of the weapon. Cye of the Torrent stared down his enemies, holding his trident tightly as his ultimate move finished gathering power. The energy exploded from the point of his weapon, flying in a straight, intense beam.

It his Dani first. The girl was sent flying from the rooftop, followed by the sound of shattering glass as she collided with the outside wall of the adjacent tower. The wave of power hit Sekhmet next, who was still approaching at a run. He flew several feet to the left, losing grip on his weapons, but did not fall from the building as Dani had. He lay still for several seconds as the light from the attack faded, but began to slowly move, reaching for his swords.

"Time to go!" Cye said to Rowen, quickly turning and crouching by his friend. Rowen still lay flat on his back, his breathing ragged. The dark blue warrior nodded and made to climb to his feet, but flinched as he moved his right leg. Seeing this, Cye quickly placed his trident on his back, then looped his arms around his friend and hauled him to his feet. As quickly as they could move, Rowen and Cye hurried away, Rowen leaning heavily on Cye.

"She hesitated," Rowen panted when they had made it several blocks away. Cye looked his friend.

"I know," he replied. They made it another block, Cye practically dragging Rowen, when Rowen let out a groan.

"Man, what are we gonna tell Sage?"


	17. Betrayed

It was very slow going, but Cye and Rowen made their way back to the latest home of the Ronin. Cye kept his arm firmly around Rowen, taking the majority of his weight. As they approached, Cye heard feet pounding on the pavement ahead of them. He looked up and saw Ryo of the Wildfire, who had been on guard, running towards them, White Blaze bounding alongside.

"What happened?" Ryo demanded as he reached them, automatically looping an arm around Rowen's shoulders on the opposite side.

"Dude," Rowen said, giving him a weak grin. "You totally missed it."

"Attacked," Cye said grimly. "Where is everyone?"

"Sage and Kento are patrolling. Mia and Yuli are inside."

"Let's get Rowen taken care of. Then we will tell you all about it."

Together, Cye and Ryo helped Rowen into the apartment, Ryo pushing the door open. Mia looked up from the recliner where she sat, reading a book with the light from the window. She leapt up, her face creased with worry.

"You should see the other… guy," Rowen told her jokingly. His face was pale from the pain.

"I think his leg is broken," Cye told her, moving to take Rowen into his bedroom. He and Ryo lowered the Strata warrior onto the bed carefully. Mia bustled in after them, holding a leg splint they had gathered from a hospital months ago.

"Power down," she ordered, which Rowen obediently did. Once out of his armor, it was easy to see that his right leg was horribly swollen below his knee, the skin mottled with dark colors. The bone was visibly pushing on the skin from the inside, but had fortunately not broken through. Mia did not flinch. She held out a piece of wood to Rowen. "Bite down on this. This is going to hurt."

* * *

"What the hell do you mean, Dani did it? She's a _Warlord_?" Ryo demanded incredulously. Cye nodded grimly. The three Ronin, along with Mia, sat in Rowen and Sage's room. Rowen was laid out on the bed, his leg now set, but still pale with pain. Mia and Cye sat on Sage's bed while Ryo paced back and forth.

"I wish I was making this up. She nearly killed Rowen." Cye sighed. The reality of the betrayal was setting in, casting a cloud of misery over the room. Cye stared at his hands. "I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen."

Mia looked pale and worried, running a hand through her already mussed hair. "This isn't good."

"How could she betray us?" Ryo demanded. "She was on our side!"  
"Something must have happened in Talpa's castle. That, or she really was on his side the entire time," Rowen said.

"But why now?" Cye started to ask, but stopped abruptly as they heard the apartment door opening and footsteps entering.

"Man, am I starving!" They could hear Kento's voice exclaim. "I hope dinner's ready!" In the bedroom, the four froze up. When the door opened a few seconds later and Sage stepped in, they could only stare with guilty expressions.

"Hey," Sage said in surprise, seeing them in there. Then, "Rowen! What happened?" Sage took four quick steps to Rowen side and bent over, looking at the splinted leg.

Mia stood up and put a hand on Sage's shoulder. "Sage," she said gently. He turned to look at her, confusion on his face. "You might want to sit down."

* * *

"I don't understand," Sage said, his face devoid of expression.

"Dani is one of them now," Cye repeated. "She's called the Dark Warlord of Revenge. She almost killed Rowen, but-"

"But Cye stopped her," Rowen cut it, drawing a quick, curious glance from Cye.

"I knew it!" Kento crowed. "I knew she was bad news!" He balled one hand into a fist and punched his other hand. "You just wait. Wait until I get a hold of her!"

"This means that she's the enemy now," Ryo said, his gaze fixed on Sage. "If she wants to be Talpa's minion, fine. But she's the enemy. That means no mercy."

Sage nodded mechanically. "Of course," he said, his face not betraying any emotion. He pretended not to notice that Mia and all four other Ronin were looking directly at him, though he felt as though their eyes were boring into his skin. "No mercy for traitors." He stood up abruptly. "I'm going to go check on Yuli." He stepped out of the room and shut the door firmly behind him. Almost immediately, he heard the five friends start whispering and had no doubt that they were talking about him.

His emotions roiled, though he did his best to tamp them down. Anger, fear, worry, confusion, and hatred filled his body, each vying for control. How could she do this? He had been good to her, he was sure. But had it been enough? What else could he have done? His hatred was directed not only at Dani, but at himself and his friends. He wondered if something he – or they – had done had chased her to Talpa's side, but still knew deep down that a truly good person would not have joined the Dynasty no matter what.

He walked to Mia and Yuli's room, found the door ajar, and peeked inside. The child was blissfully asleep, ignorant to the day's events. White Blaze, who was curled on the floor beside the bed, picked up his head and met Sage's gaze for a moment. Sage pulled the door shut carefully, holding the door handle to avoid the sound of the click.

He knew he should go back to his friends, but couldn't bear to face their inquiring gazes. Instead, he retreated from the apartment and went to the stairs, climbing up several flights to reach the roof. There, he slumped into a wooden chair left by the former occupants of the building. The wood was dark and cracking, having been left unattended for so many months. Sage stared glumly out at the city streets, his mind churning. He couldn't make sense of what had happened, but felt a tight pain in his chest and throughout his body, similar to how he felt when Talpa first took over. He wanted to scream or cry, but found he was unable to do either.

When Talpa came, he knew what he needed to do. He knew he had to fight to save his family, his friends, and everyone else who had been in the city. He had felt a determined, white-hot rage that drove him. Now, he wasn't sure what he could do. Fight, yes, but the thought of fighting Dani intensified that pain in his chest.

Someone walked out onto the roof and approached him. Sage kept his gaze fixedly forward, not looking up. Mia sat down next to him, but said nothing. They sat like that, not speaking, for several long minutes.

Finally, Sage broke the silence. "I thought she was our friend."

"We all did," Mia said quietly.

"Why did she do this?"

Mia leveled her gaze and looked directly at Sage. "I don't know. But I know that she's our enemy now. She almost killed Rowen." Sage nodded, but said nothing, so Mia continued. "When you see her again, you will have to remember that. Remember she's the enemy, not your friend. You will have to fight her to save the city."

Sage nodded again, but didn't look at the girl. "I know."

* * *

"Why didn't you let me tell Sage that Dani hesitated?" Cye queried when he and Rowen were alone, Kento and Ryo having left to see about dinner.

Rowen let out a breath. "You know Sage. If he thought there was any hope for that girl, he'd be beating down Talpa's door now. He's too noble for his own good." Cye turned that over in his mind.

"Do you think that there is hope?"

"No idea. That is, assuming she survived your attack."

Cye laughed wryly. "Warlord or Ronin, it doesn't matter. She's got armor. I'm sure she survived."

"You're probably right," Rowen admitted.

"Let's talk about your aim," Cye said, teasing Rowen a little. "I've never seen you miss before."

"Miss?" Rowen looked offended, shooting Cye a haughty glare. "You best shut your trap. I don't miss."

"You had the perfect shot and you hit her in the shoulder," Cye pointed out.

Rowen shrugged and looked at the ceiling. "I didn't want to believe that she was evil, either, you know."

"Yeah, well. I guess we better get used to it quick." Cye smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood, then reached out and ruffled Rowen's hair. Rowen swatted his hand away.

"Don't worry, I learned my lesson," Rowen replied, gesturing at his leg with a pained expression.

"We all did." Cye stood up and moved to the door. "You better get to healing that gimp leg of yours. If Talpa's got five warlords now, we're going to need everyone at full strength. Can't have anymore misses." He ducked, laughing, at Rowen grabbed a glass off of the bedside table and hurled it at Cye. It shattered on the wall behind Cye. Still laughing, Cye left the room.


	18. A Warlord's Place

Dani awoke to pain. Her entire body ached and she felt sears of pain across her face, but it was her shoulder that was the worst. She felt as if her shoulder was burning. Dani moved to sit up, her body screaming in protest. As she moved, shards of glass fell around her, tinkling to the floor. Dani groaned and tried to swallow, but found her mouth to be bone dry. She looked around, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the evening light. She was lying alone on the floor, surrounded by empty cubicles. Shattered glass lay around her, the source obviously the broken wall of windows to her right.

She reached her right hand to the opposite shoulder and found the arrow still protruding there, clearly the source of the searing pain. Gingerly, she climbed to her feet, every muscle urging her to stop moving. The pain in her body was incredible. She felt as if she was nothing more than one huge bruise, albeit one with an arrow stuck in it.

Dani turned and examined her broken reflection using what remained of the window wall. She saw multiple cuts on her face, now clotted, and dry blood streaked across the skin. Souvenirs from her entrance through the window, undoubtedly. She powered all the way down to her clothes and turned to look at the arrow in the window's reflection. It had gone straight through her, the arrowhead just barely cutting through the skin in the front of her shoulder. Her armor must have stopped it on the front end, it having been slowed down enough after cutting through the back of her armor and several inches of flesh.

With a grimace, Dani pushed the back of the arrow through her shoulder and bit back a shriek as the arrowhead emerged from her skin. Fresh blood streaked from the wound, pouring down her torso. Once through, she snapped the arrowhead off and tossed it away, then pulled the remainder of the shaft from the back of her shoulder. Her head spun, fogged with pain, but still she made herself stand, though she leaned on a cubicle wall for support. She ripped off a piece of her shirt and put it to the front wound, putting pressure on it to lessen the outpouring of blood. As it slowed, Dani summoned her subarmor, hoping to draw strength from the Tempest armor.

Having done all she could, Dani eyed the hole in the window reluctantly. She certainly didn't feel capable of leaving the same way she came in, so, slowly, her body protesting, she took the stairs. She climbed to the roof, finding herself uncommonly out of breath, and surveyed the area. Nothing. The surrounding city was empty as ever, with no sign of the Ronin or Sekhmet. It seemed that the battle was over.

It took Dani much longer than it should have to take the stairs down to the building entrance and then make her way to Talpa's castle. By the time she reached it, the evening light had long since been extinguished. The gates opened for her as she approached, and she walked in without pausing. Her body was starting to move a little bit more easily, thanks to the healing power of her armor, but her shoulder still seared with hot pain.

Without pause, she walked through the great antechamber, through the curving passageways, and swung open the door to Talpa's inner chamber. Four pairs of eyes swung around to look at her.

"Nice of you to join us," Sekhmet said, a condescending, triumphant sneer playing on his lips.

"Yes, really appreciated your help back there, Sekkie," Dani answered flippantly. "Great teamwork."

Anubis glowered at her. The entire left side of his face was horribly burned from Ryo's Rage of Inferno, the skin blackened and bubbling. His eyes were undamaged, though, his left eye a shock of color in the dead face. "Sekhmet was telling an interesting tale. Says you had a Ronin at your mercy and you hesitated."

"Yes, I call it hesitating when my _colleague_ ," Dani spat, shooting a glare at Sekhmet, "allows the other Ronin a chance to get free and tackle me."

"You did hesitate!" spat Sekhmet hatefully. "You could have killed him!"

"Would have, too, if you'd done your job," she responded dismissively, meeting his glare coolly. "Remind me, how many Ronin did you take down?"

" **Enough** ," Talpa thundered. All five Warlords turned their gazes to their master. **"Yet again, you have failed me. Despite your constant reassurances, it seems none of you have the power to take out even a single adolescent wearing my armor."** His thunderous voice, full of venom, filled the room. None of the Warlords moved a single muscle. **"Get out of my sight."** In almost perfect synchronicity, the five Warlords saluted him with a first at their heart, then turned and walked from the room.

As soon as the great door closed on the dark throne room, Sekhmet punched Dani in her injured shoulder. Unbidden, Dani let out a yelp of pain and stumbled, the sudden burst of fresh pain making her vision hazy. Cale snickered. Feeling her face redden in fury and embarrassment, Dani spun to face Sekhmet.

"Watch yourself, Sekkie," she hissed, her green eyes narrowed. Her shoulder throbbed. "You don't want to get on my bad side."

"What are you going to do? Choke up when you try to attack me?" He sneered at her, hate in his eyes. "Or lie unconscious on the floor for a while? It seems one attack is enough to take you out."

She moved to slap him, but he caught her wrist and twisted it painfully, yanking her towards him. "I'm onto you, girl," he hissed, his hot breath in her face. The smell of it was rancid. Evidently, dental care had taken a back seat to taking over the world. "You're just a stupid little girl in fancy armor. Still." His eyes tracked over her body. "Maybe we can find some use for you." The other three Warlords guffawed.

"I'm sure the Ronin did," Dais added with a snicker. "Why else would they keep her around?"

Dani yanked her arm free. Her face felt hot. "Just try it. You'll find out fast what I can do." She stalked away, ignoring their mocking laughter behind her. She made a beeline for her chambers within the castle. The room was an average size, sparsely decorated. The walls were the same gray and brown as the rest of the castle, but it had more light than was found elsewhere. It seemed that someone understood that humans preferred more light than Talpa did. The bed was low to the ground and covered with several coarse blankets. There was a chest for Dani's personal belongings, which was empty, and a simple bamboo chair and table. A plain wooden door led to the washroom, which contained a square wooden tub set into the floor and a chamber pot. A small wooden table held a bar of soap and a bucket of water.

As soon as Dani entered, she powered down to her clothing, a simple T-shirt and cotton shorts, and pulled on a small rope by the bed that dangled from the ceiling. The rope would cause a bell to ring elsewhere in the castle, summoning a servant to her. Dani sank onto the bed and reached her right hand over to her shoulder, craning her neck to get a glimpse of the ugly wound. The wound throbbed as she moved her shoulder, but she ignored the pain. Her gray T-shirt was soaked, both with blood and sweat. It stuck tightly to her body. Around the wounds, the shirt had been changed to a deep scarlet, tracks of blood still spreading as the twin injuries leaked sluggishly. Without her armor, Dani could feel the pain in her shoulder building.

A timid knock came at the door. "Come in," Dani said. The door opened and a girl about her own age popped her head in. The girl was raven-haired with dark, almond-shaped eyes to match, framed with thick lashes that Dani couldn't help but envy. She was undoubtedly a beauty.

"You rang, Lady Daniella?" The girl's dull eyes found Dani's bloodied shirt and widened.

"Yes, Reya. Please send Doctor Handa to me." Reya nodded quickly and her head disappeared from the room, the door clicking shut. She must have taken off at a run, because Doctor Handa was bustling into the room within minutes, carrying a travel medicine box. He entered, gave her a terse bow, and set about cleaning her wound and sewing it up without speaking. He gave off a very nervous aura, as if he were worried Dani would attack him at any moment. Dani kept very still, not wanting to move and startle him. Despite his nervousness, the doctor's hands were sure. He made short work of the wound, then rose and gave her another bow.

"Thank you, doctor," Dani said gratefully, craning her neck to get look at the stitches on her shoulder. Doctor Handa looked shocked, his face frozen.

"You… Are welcome, Lady Daniella," he answered, evidently thrown off by the thanks. He waited for a moment, as if expecting her to do something else, then bowed yet again and hurried from the room. As soon as he left, the door opened again and Reya stepped in.

"Is there anything else you need, miss?"

"Some food would be much appreciated," Dani admitted, smiling faintly at the girl. The girl gave a quick nod and left once again. Dani let out a long sigh. She felt uncomfortable around these "servants," who so obviously feared her. She knew that the other Warlords treated them very, very poorly, but had not asked specifics. She had seen Reya being summoned into the other Warlords' chambers late at night enough times to know that they had found uses for her beyond fetching food and doctors.

She had been shocked when she found out that Talpa had human servants, but had quickly found out the truth. They were denizens of the city who had chosen to serve Talpa in exchange for escape from the Netherworld, where the other citizens were being held. Doctor Handa served the Warlords by helping them heal, while the others brought out did menial tasks and hard labor. Dani had not seen the Netherworld, but knew from the darkened, fearful looks of the servants that it must not be a pleasant place. Anubis seemed to be the only Warlord who went there. He claimed to be working on an important task for Talpa, but was very close-lipped about it.

Reya returned with a tray holding bread, water, and a bowl of thick soup. "Thank you," Dani said as the girl brought it to the bamboo table. Dani rose and went to sit in the chair, reaching for the bread without hesitation. Reya nodded.

"I must go see to Master Cale soon," she said, a strained note in her voice. "But is there anything else you need?"

"No, this is fine, thank you." Reya nodded again, but paused, hovering near the table. She looked at Dani with her lips parted slightly as if she were about to ask a question, then shut them tightly and turned to leave the room. Dani watched her go.

"Wait." Reya stopped and turned back.

"My lady?"

"May I ask you a question?"

"Of course, my lady." Reya's eyes were respectfully downcast, but Dani felt as if the girl tensed up, putting up a guard.

"You've been to the Netherworld, right?"

"…Yes. My lady."

"What's it like?"

There was a long moment of silence that stretched between the two. Dani knew that Reya was trying to figure out what to say.

"It is… Dark. The creatures there are terrifying." Reya's voice sounded bitter.

"Are the citizens treated well?"

Reya's eyes flashed to Dani's face, disbelief clear on the beautiful face. The black-haired girl quickly schooled her features back into neutrality and turned her gaze back to the floor.

"As well as we deserve, my lady Daniella."

"You can be honest."

Reya looked up yet again and inspected Dani's face, as if looking for a trap to be written there. Finally, she spoke slowly. "It is… horrible, my lady. We were crammed into small prisons. The guards took joy in terrifying and beating us. Many," the girl swallowed, "were killed. For sport. Everyone lived in fear, all the time, and everyone was hungry. The children cried. Always. The babies were the worst. They screamed and screamed for warmth, and comfort, and food." Reya dropped her voice to a whisper. "They were the first to die."

Dani didn't speak for a moment. "Well. Maybe their parents should have joined Talpa if they wanted to save them."

Reya's eyes darted to Dani's face once again, then back downward. "Yes, my lady," she said in a level tone.

"You can go now."

Reya needed no further instruction. She left the room quickly, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Dani sat at her table for several long minutes, staring at the wall, deep in thought. Finally, she shook her head and rose, then crawled into bed. She would need her strength for the fights ahead.


	19. Warlord vs Ronin

The five Warlords stood together in the streets, their backs to the slowly lowering sun. Dani felt the evening breeze catch a strand of hair that had escaped her face mask and reached to tuck it away.

"Ronin scum!" Dais screamed into the empty city. A murder of crows, shocked by his sudden voice, flew into air and fled, cawing in protest. "Come and face us!" His voice was eerily magnified, picked up by every screen in the city. Television sets and computers that had lain dormant for weeks cut on, echoing his words. "You know where to find us." The words came perfectly in sync, shouted from all corners of the city, giving sudden life to the dead streets.

Then, once again, silence reigned.

"Think they will come?" Cale queried, not turning to look at his comrades.

"Of course they will come," Dani answered.

* * *

They came.

The Ronin Warriors made no attempt to hide their approach as they walked to the scene of their very first battle. The great video billboard hung, black and cracked, on the side of the crumbling building. As they neared, the five armored Warlords turned to face them.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Ryo asked sarcastically, stopping ten yards from the Warlords. His friends stopped, arrayed around him. To his right side stood Cye and Kento, while Rowen and Sage stood on the other. Sage fixed his glare on Cale, refusing to look around at the other Warlords. To look at _her_. He had not seen her in the three weeks since Cye and Rowen had battled her, though once Ryo reported seeing her at the rear of a battalion of soldiers. Other than that, the friends had not spoken of her.

At least, not around him.

Sage spared at quick glance at Rowen beside him. Rowen's leg had healed, thanks to the power of his armor, but Sage still worried for him. He had not been in a full battle since that injury. Sage hoped he was truly fully healed and ready. This would not be an easy fight.

"It's time to finish this," Dais growled. "Let's see who is truly the strongest."

"Let me guess. We start fighting, and then your twerps sneak up behind us?" Ryo demanded, his fingers twitching as if he longed to reach for his swords. "Sounds about right."

"No soldiers. Warlords versus Ronin," Anubis snarled. He was glaring furiously at Ryo, likely not having forgiven the wearer of the Wildfire armor for burning off half his face. "I want to watch the life drain from your face."

"Aww, Ryo, you've got an admirer," Kento crooned. "How sweet." Anubis snarled at him fiercely. Kento made a kissy face in his direction, which infuriated Anubis even more. He reached for his sickle and grasped the handle tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"No more games," Cale spat. "Let's fight."

Ryo turned to look at each of his friends in turn and found steely determination in each face.

"Let's go, then."

With no further preamble, all ten warriors drew their weapons. Kento was the first to move, rushing towards Dais with a wordless scream of bloodlust and fury. After that, the two sides clashed together with screams and the clatter of weapons. Sage brought his sword down heavily towards Cale, but the Warlord of Corruption used his nodachi to contemptuously knock Sage's weapon away. A quick battle of flashing steel ensued, each strike of his equally matched by Cale.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sage saw Kento and Ryo working together to fight Anubis. Anubis was twirling with inhuman speed, blocking each attack, but was unable to go on the offense. _Good_ , Sage thought grimly. He was aware of Rowen battling Dais nearby, while Cye was deeply engaged with Sekhmet. Then, as he once again raised his sword to deflect a blow to his face, another thought struck him. Five Warlords. Five Ronin. Where was the fifth Warlord? Where was Dani?

He looked around quickly, so distracted that he just barely moved his sword in time to block Cale's feint, turning his arms uncomfortably to let Cale's weapon bounce off his sword. It was an awkward move, which nearly knocked Sage's sword from his grasp.

He saw her. She was standing back from the battle atop a parked, silver car. Her eyes were fixed, her arm moving back at she drew her bow, aiming it carefully…

Sage knew where she was aiming. Her gaze was locked on something behind him, where Rowen fought Dais. Without a thought, he lunged towards her, surprising Cale into a moment of motionless. His legs pumped, heart pounding, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. He would not let her hurt his friends. He reached her, a green blur, just as she was loosing the arrow towards Rowen. He struck out with his sword, knocking her off of her feet to spin and tumble down the side of the car. The arrow flew uselessly up in the air, then clattered to the pavement nearby.

He glanced over his shoulder to see that, somehow, Ryo had taken over the battle with Cale and was driving him backwards. Dani had already leapt back to her feet, her sword in hand. She met his gaze and, just for a second, Sage felt a tremble in his gut.

Dani. It was Dani. Could he really fight her?

The decision was made for him when she rushed him, swinging her sword in a complex scale. Thoughts and feelings fled. All he could do was fight. He watched her sword move in its pattern. It was a complicated pattern with many feints and changes, but he was able to match each strike. He had, after all, seen her use this very same pattern in multiple fights. He knew with certainty what move she would make before she made it. He knew her tricks.

He knew her.

Sage fought fiercely, blocking every single blow and attacking in her unguarded areas – even before they were unguarded. His sword would already be moving towards an opening in her defense before the opening even existed because he was able to predict her next move. He struck her in the shoulder, the torso, the legs, forcing her back, and back, and back. The sounds of his comrades' battles faded as they fought, her stumbling backwards, him pushing the attack in a blur of steel.

She got smart, of course, and dropped the sword scales that he had seen before, opting to fight based on reflex. Still, he saw every twitch of her muscle and knew instinctively where her next attack would fall. He felt as if every limb was filled with a surety and knowledge that he had not before experienced. His mind felt entirely clear and singularly focused on their battle.

She stumbled. Tripped. Fell backwards. She hit the ground with a crash, her sword leaving her grip. In an instant, Sage had his sword at her throat, ready for slash that would help bring down Talpa's cruel regime. The slash that would take away one of his Warlords and greatly reduce his power.

He looked at her face then, and felt suddenly as if every ounce of adrenaline left his body at once. He saw her emerald eyes locked on his, her familiar features doused in sweat. A piece of brown hair was sticking to her cheek. He held his sword at her throat still, but suddenly felt his hand tremble. This wasn't some horrible, evil creature. This was Dani. A human. Dani. Indecision and dread gripped him suddenly. _She is evil,_ he told himself. _She chose him. She nearly killed Rowen._ He knew the words were true, but they somehow felt flat and far away as he continued to meet her eyes.

"Do it already," Dani spat. Sage wondered suddenly how long he had been standing there with his sword at her throat. At the sound of her voice, the last remnants of his resolve left him. He felt suddenly empty. He dropped his sword.

"Go back to your master," Sage said quietly, turning his gaze from her face. "Tell him the Ronin Warriors are coming for him." He felt Dani's eyes boring into him. The purple-armored warrior rose, picking up and sheathing her sword. Without another word, he turned and walked away, back in the direction of his friends. He did not look back.

Sage was shocked to see how far away his battle with Dani had taken him. He picked up his pace and ran the final three blocks to the site of the original battle. Only Cye was there, panting heavily, deep in battle with Sekhmet. Cye was blinking furiously, blood running into his eyes from a cut along his right temple.

Sage leapt in, attacking Sekhmet with pent-up fury. With two Ronin attacking him, Sekhmet turned and ran. Seeing the state Cye was in, Sage did not pursue. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Where is everyone?"

"Don't know," Cye said, putting his hands on his knees and gasping for breath. "We got separated. Are you okay? Did you win?"

"She got away," said Sage quietly. Cye gave him a searching look, but asked no further questions.

"Let's find the others," Cye said.

* * *

Dani stood in the alley for several long minutes, her sword dangling from her hand. She would be heavily bruised, but was otherwise unharmed. She looked up and down the street, trying to decide what she should do. She certainly couldn't go back to the castle, uninjured and without a prize. _Why did he let me go?_ She was still reeling from the short, intense battle, her body trembling with exertion and leftover adrenaline. Unsure of her next goal, she turned and jogged up a nearby road, perpendicular to the site of the battle's beginning.

"TRAITOR!" A hate-filled voice cried above and behind her. She whirled and raised her sword just as the orange-clad Kento of Hardrock slammed into her, having leapt from somewhere above. His staff smashed into her face as the weight of his body forced her into the pavement. She hit hard on her back, her armor clashing with the road and her head connecting. Kento jumped to his feet without missing a single beat, his hands on his sanjiegun, lifting it to smash into her face while she lay on the ground. She jerked and rolled to the side, moving just as the staff smashed into the asphalt by her head. She heard the asphalt smash and felt it vibrate underneath her body, cracks radiating from the point of impact.

Dani reached desperately over her shoulder and scrabbled for her sword, but it was trapped underneath her. She rolled again as Kento once again aimed, then used the momentum to gain her feet. She whirled and, in one smooth motion, unsheathed her sword and slashed it out towards Kento.

To her surprise, it connected. Kento let out a grunt of pain and stumbled forward, his sanjiegun lowering. In his anger, he had moved too quickly and overextended his body, leaving himself vulnerable. Dani spun again and the flat of her blade connected with the side of Kento's head. He collapsed to the ground with a sigh as air escaped his lungs. His body sprawled out on the ground, his staff smacking into the ground. Slowly, the weapon rolled towards the curb.

Winded, Dani knelt and placed a hand in front of Kento's mouth. The warm caress of air on her fingers told her that he was still breathing steadily. However, it seemed like he would be taking a nice long nap.

She paused, crouching there for a moment, then stood and sheathed her sword. "A life for a life," she muttered, shaking her head. She turned to go.

"Ah, Daniella! Looks like you caught yourself a Ronin!"

Dani jerked in surprise and turned to see Anubis standing at the end of the alley, his body casting a long shadow in front of him. Before she could speak, Anubis stepped forward and bent to inspect Kento.

"Just unconscious. Well, finish him then," said the Warlord with a shrug.

"No!" Dani snapped out in surprise. Anubis froze and turned his steely eyes to her. "He… Could be useful. Maybe the Ronin have a weakness they are hiding. Or he could tell us where they are living. We could ambush them."

Anubis paused to consider this. "If there was some weakness, wouldn't Talpa know about it? And wouldn't you?"

"I don't think so. The armors are different when they are split. Talpa may not know. And they never trusted or confided in me," Dani said with a roll of her eyes. Anubis still eyed her, so she continued. "If nothing else, he's bait."

Anubis nodded slowly. "So be it." He reached down and, with only a small grunt of effort, picked Kento up and slung him across his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Let's go."

"What about the others?" Dani questioned. Anubis shot her a haughty look.

"They can take care of themselves. Or not."

Dani swallowed, nodded, and followed Anubis. Together, the two Warlords and their captive made their way back to Talpa's castle.


	20. A Family Reunited

"Where's Kento?" Ryo demanded, looking around as if expecting the warrior of Hardrock to appear. He, Cye, Sage, and Rowen had gathered at an intersection, having just chased off Cale. There was no evidence of Kento or the other warlords.

"He must still be fighting," Rowen said, a small hint of concern creeping into his tone. Together, the four friends leapt from building to building to the rooftops to gain a bird's eye view. They searched nearby blocks. No Kento.

"Who was he fighting?" Cye asked.

"Anubis," Sage answered. The warriors searched on, worry blossoming in their hearts.

"Something's wrong," said Ryo. "This is Kento we're talking about. We would have found him by now."

"Do you think Anubis actually beat him?" Rowen asked.

"No way. Not on his own," said Cye. "Do you think he got ganged up on?"

"Nah, we beat those creeps up good and sent them packing," said Rowen dismissively. He looked around. "Right?"

"Right," Cye agreed, nodding. "Sage and I crushed Sekhmet, you sent Dais packing, and we all saw Cale running back to the castle with his tail between his legs. That just leaves Anubis and…" He trailed off, then turned his aquamarine eyes to Sage. "You said that… _she_ … got away. Do you think that she could have turned around and helped Anubis?"

Sage stood, frozen, as all eyes turned to him. He could not bear to meet their gazes. "I…" He felt stiff and cold, as if the blood and life was draining out of him. "I don't know. Maybe."

Ryo swore. "If they have Kento… And if they hurt him…" His blue eyes flashed with rage. "I'm going to kill her."

"We have to find him," said Rowen automatically. "If he's at the castle, we gotta head there now."

"We can't"! Cye protested, which caused his three companions to turn incredulous eyes on him. "We barely survived the last attempt, and that was _with_ the Inferno armor, which we won't have without Kento. We never even got past the first room. Mia and Yuli only got out because they had…" he trailed off, not finishing that thought. "There's no way the four of us can rescue him on our own."

"If he's still alive," Ryo murmured under his breath.

"There has to be a way," Rowen said resolutely.

"Yeah, but Cye is right," Sage said, speaking with a great effort through stiff lips. "We almost got killed when there were six of us and just four Warlords. We never would have gotten to Mia and Yuli without help."

"But we can't leave him!" protested Rowen.

"Of course not," Ryo agreed. "But we are going to have to be careful. This is going to take some reconnaissance this time."

"Kento would be so disappointed," Cye said, trying to force a smile.

"Not if it saves his life," Wildfire responded. "Let's go there now. Not to attack, but to see if we can find another way in."

Once there, the warriors spread out, finding places to hide and watch at each of the four corners of the castle. Finally alone, Sage felt himself begin to tremble with internalized rage and horror. _This is my fault,_ his mind screamed to himself. _I should have killed her. I should have cut her throat. This never would have happened if I had just done what I needed to do._ The guilt was slashing a horrible wound in his very soul, leaving him feeling as if he were trapped in a vortex of pain and despair. If only he had followed through. She had been at his mercy, and he had let her go.

Sage closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. No matter what happened next, he would destroy her. Even if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

The conquering heroes marched into the castle with their trophy of war. Kento, still unconscious, was lashed to a post specifically made to hold the Ronin Warriors. There were five posts, all identical, arrayed in a row with two yard between each one. Kento was lashed to the middle, his arms chained above his head and his feet chained to the bottom of the post. At first glance, the post and chains did not look like much, but Dani saw that they had a faint, otherworldly glow. Whatever the metal was made of, it was not from Earth. The metal gleamed, shiny and new.

Anubis stepped back from Kento, having finished chaining him to the middle post, and saw Dani looking. He smirked. "Do you like it?"

"What is it?"

"The strongest substance the Netherworld has to offer, created by the Nether Spirits. Your little friends won't be able to break free this time. Not even Talpa at his height of power could break these chains."

Dani rolled her eyes. "They aren't my friends. And isn't that a little bit treasonous to say, Nuby?"

Anubis scowled at her. "Not if it is the truth. This is the same metal our armors are created from. It cannot be destroyed."

Dani glanced down at her subarmor, having removed her full suit. Despite countless battles and attacks, it remained unscathed.

"Strata's arrow punctured my armor," she pointed out.

"Strata's arrow," Anubis scoffed, "is made from the same substance. And your armor has already healed itself."

"So couldn't the Ronin weapons break the chains?"

Anubis turned and looked squarely at Dani. "And how do you suppose a Ronin will get in here to break the chains, Daniella?"

She shrugged. "Just asking." Anubis shot her one more dirty look, then turned to Kento. He gazed at the Hardrock warrior, then stepped forward and slapped him across the face. With a start, Hardrock's eyes flew open. His head jerked to one side, then the other, taking in his surroundings. His arms and legs convulsed and he tried to pull away from the post.

"What is this?" he demanded furiously, looking between Anubis and Dani. "Where am I? Where are the others?"

"Oh, excellent question," said Anubis with a large grin. "Not here, unfortunately. It seems none of our colleagues can manage against your little friends, despite their big words. I'm sure your buddies are holing themselves back up now."

"Good," said Kento with a vicious grin. He looked at Dani. "I hate to see that _you're_ still breathing."

Dani crossed her arms. "Too bad you won't be seeing me for long," she spat.

"Now, boy, we have a few questions for you," Anubis said, "though I hate to interrupt your little reunion. We'd love to pay another house call to your friends. Maybe one that Dais won't be able to botch. Please do tell us where they are staying."

Kento let out a stream of curses, followed by "I will NEVER betray my friends. There is nothing you can do to me to make me tell you anything!" Kento turned his dark eyes to Dani. " _Some_ of us have a smidgen of loyalty."

"How unfortunate," Anubis said, though his eyes glittered with intense joy. "Though that does sound like a challenge."

"Do whatever you want," Kento declared bravely. "I will never tell you anything."

Anubis grinned, a malevolent joy practically oozing from his being.

"We will see. Daniella, wait here. I want you to see this." With that, he turned and nearly floated from the room, his footfalls echoing as he left.

* * *

Anubis marched back into the room, his dark eyes flashing in his burned face. Behind him, two soldiers entered, each prodding a bound and gagged person in front of them at sword point. Both figures were gaunt and disheveled, dressed in rags, looking incredibly malnourished and as if they hadn't even heard of bathing. Dani couldn't help but notice as the stench reached her that they smelled as if they hadn't heard of deodorant, either. The first figure was a man. He appeared to be tall, but was bent over from exhaustion and starvation. His dark hair was matted, stuck completely to his dirty skin. The other prisoner was a woman, shorter than Dani. Her long hair hung in oily, filthy tendrils, making it impossible to tell what color it actually was. Her eyes were filled with fear and horror and were staring past Dani. She seemed to be trying to look elsewhere – anywhere else – but couldn't, her eyes continually moving away and then straight back. The man's eyes looked resolutely at the floor.

"What's this about, Anubis?" Dani demanded with crossed arms, shifting her weight uncomfortably. Unable to help herself, she followed the woman's gaze, looking at Kento. With one look at Kento's face, she knew. His jaw was clenched tight and he was pulling at his restraints, but it was his eyes that did the talking. They were filled with fear, such as Dani had not seen from him throughout his imprisonment.

"Watch and learn, little girl," snarled Anubis, shooting her a look filled with hatred. He marched straight up to Kento, the soldiers prodding the people up behind him. The woman stumbled, but regained her feet. Her gaze was fixed now on Kento, as if drinking in the sight of him. "I believe you know those people," Anubis said to Kento with a sneering smile.

"Nope. Why? Who are they?" Kento asked, looking right at Anubis. His face appeared to be calm now, but Dani could feel the incredible tension in the air, almost as if it emanated from the Hardrock warrior's body.

"No? So you don't mind if I do this?" He turned and, with cruel slowness, dragged his scythe across the man's chest, leaving a deep red slash in its wake. The man jerked and arched away from him, his face contorting in immense pain. However, to his credit, the man did not cry out.

"No! Stop!" Kento screamed, lashing his body around in an attempt to free himself from his chains. The effort has futile. Kento's face showed at least as much pain as the man was in, while the woman also strained against her restraints in an attempt to help the man, but the soldier held her firmly by her tied wrists. The woman screamed something incomprehensible through her gag, tears beginning to stream down her face.

The Warlord of Cruelty stopped and turned back to Kento. "Now, Hardrock, I believe it's time for you to answer some questions. Where are the other Ronn? What are their weaknesses?"

"Let them go," said Kento, "they have nothing to do with this."

"Oh, I think they have everything to do with this," Anubis said. He stabbed the woman in the leg. She let out a yelp of pain and collapsed to the floor, her now-injured leg crumpling underneath her. Bright red blood leaked from the fresh wound, spilling to the floor.

"No! Mom!" Kento cried out, her voice anguished. The man screamed out something. From the look of pure hatred and malice on his face as he strained towards Kento's mom, Dani realized two things. First, the man was the woman's husband – so very likely Kento's father – and second, she realized it was likely a good thing that nobody could understand the words the man was shouting.

"You didn't answer the questions," said Anubis calmly. Kento strained towards him once more, then made eye contact with his mother. His mother shook her head. Dani knew she was telling him not to reveal anything.

"I'll tell you," Kento said, the fight dying from him. "Please, just let them go." Anubis turned to Dani with a triumphant, malicious grin, then back to Kento. "We are weaker on our own, when we can't draw on each other for support. There's no secret kryptonite. That's it. They were staying in an apartment across from the British Embassy. Fifth floor. But they could have left by now." Kento hung limply, looking absolutely broken and defeated. He avoided the gazes of his parents, who were looking at him in horror and fear.

Anubis' smile grew. "Thank you." He turned and casually dug the point of his scythe into the man's shoulder, dragging it slowly through the flesh, which parted easily to the sharpened weapon.

Screams arose from three voices. Kento spat obscenities at Anubis, while the woman struggled to help her husband, once again to no avail. The man let out of a sharp cry, but quickly silenced himself.

"Enough, Anubis!" Dani said sharply, stepping towards the Warlord. "He gave you the information!" Anubis slowly turned his eyes to Dani. The sheer hatred and cruelty Dani saw living in those dark orbs were enough to make her insides quiver, but she didn't step back. Without a word, and without taking his gaze from her, Anubis raised the scythe. It flashed.

With a sickening sound, the scythe parted flesh and bone. With a loud, wet thump, Dani heard the man's head hit the ground and begin to roll. Anubis didn't even glance down. Instead, he idly examined the sheen of bright red blood on his weapon, then cruelly wiped it on the rags the woman wore.

Dani could only faintly hear the anguished screams of Kento and his mother, barely aware as the man's head rolled and stopped near her feet, his already glassy eyes fixed in a permanent, empty stare. She heard a roaring sound in her ears, felt a roiling in her stomach.

"Take this bitch back to the Netherworld," Anubis snapped to the soldiers, his furious eyes still on Dani. "Leave the body. Let Hardrock enjoy some alone time with his dear father." He stepped close to Dani, so close that she could feel his hot breath on her face. "You don't give the orders around here, little girl," he hissed, then stalked away. A soldier dragged the screaming, sobbing woman from the room by her arms. The other soldier followed, Kento's screams and curses following them.

"Are you happy now?" Kento raved at Dani, frothing at the mouth, his eyes wild. He pulled desperately at his restraints. "Are you happy, bitch?! Are you happy now?!" Tears streamed down his face as he screamed at her.

Without a word, Dani turned and walked from the room.

"I'll kill you!" Kento's strangled, grief-stricken voice shrieked after her. "I'll kill you!"


	21. Confrontation

Alone with his father's body, watching the increasingly sluggish blood spreading on the floor, Kento wept.

It was his greatest fear come to fruition. He desperately wanted to wrest his eyes from the sight, but found he could not. His eyes burned and blurred from the tears, but he could not stop them from falling. He watched his father's body grow cold, pale, and stiff, wanting to reach out and hug it to him, but his arms were tightly chained above him. Nothing he did made the slightest difference. The head had rolled several feet from the body. Mercifully, the face was turned away from Kento. He did not think he could bear to stare at his father's dead eyes.

Kento went through patterns of raging at the world, screaming for Anubis and Dani to return and face him, then a period of weeping. Finally, zapped of every last ounce of energy and will, he hung listlessly from his chains, his chin drooped into his chest. The fight had left his body, and he found that he felt quite empty. The pain still pounded through him, but it felt strangely far away. He found himself thinking longingly of his mother, wishing he could hug her and comfort her.

Finally, after hours of grieving, his body shut down and gave him the mercy of sleep.

* * *

When he awoke from his fitful slumber, he dragged his eyes immediately to his father. Or, at least, where his father had been. "FATHER!" he screamed, seeing only a red stain where the body had lain. He pulled at the chains, whipping his head around. His eyes fixated on one of Talpa's green goons, standing alone by the door of his prison. "Where is he?!" he demanded, pulling fruitlessly at his prison. "What did you do with him?"

The goon did not answer, of course, but just stared at him with its blank eyes. After a minute, the green goon approached. Kento tensed up, expecting the soldier to attack him. Surprisingly, it did not. It stopped a foot away and inspected him, looking him up and down.

"What do you want?" Kento snapped bitterly, not expecting an answer. "Wondering what else you can do to me? I've already given you everything you wanted. And you've taken my father away from me."

The goon looked at him again, then stepped behind the pole that held Kento. Kento strained his neck in an attempt to keep the soldier in his sights, but his helmet impeded his peripheral vision.

There was a shuffling sound, a clink, then Kento found his feet suddenly free, leaving him to dangle from his wrists. "Hey!" Kento protested, kicking his legs wildly. He felt heavy pressure on his wrists and shoulders, all of his weight put on those joints.

Then, without warning, he hit the ground, his arms freed from their prison. He crumpled to his knees to and remained there, his body trembling. Pain lanced through his arms as blood slowly returned to them. He did not look up, staring at the floor, waiting for his body to recover. His mind raced. What was happening? Were they taking him to be killed? Had Talpa asked to see him to gloat, or even to absorb him? Where was his mother?

He felt a pressure on his arm, and looked to see the soldier grasping him, attempting to pull him to his feet. He shook the goon off angrily. "Don't touch me," he snapped, feeling a touch childish as he did so. He stood up. "Did they seriously send just one of you to fetch me?" He looked the goon up and down. "Do you know how many of you I've killed?"

To his surprise, the goon lifted a hand and gave him the "come hither" motion, gesturing him towards the door. Kento was taken aback at this show of humanity, but still snorted. "I'm not a dog, you know. I'm definitely going to kill you." He looked around, but did not see his weapon. "I'd just like to take some of those warlords out too, so lead me to them." He made of show of stretching out his arms.

To his surprise, the soldier reached behind itself and produced Kento's sanjiegun from its armor. It was broken into its three sections and folded so as to be as small as possible, but was definitely Kento's weapon. The soldier held it out to Kento in an open palm, the end pieces dangling towards the floor by its chains.

Kento stared blankly for a moment, then swiped out his hand and grasped the weapon, pulling it away quickly as if he thought the goon would yank it back. He inspected it, seeing it unharmed. "Well… Thanks," he said, wondering if he was about to be told to battle the warlords. _They'd never offer to battle me. Not when I'm already at their mercy_. Still, they would never free him and return his weapon. Something was about to happen.

Kento felt his body humming with anticipation, the battle song growing. Somebody was about to feel his wrath. He gave thought to ripping the goon to pieces just then, but dismissed it. He wanted a real battle. He wanted Anubis. If this goon was going to take him to his prey, then he could wait to destroy it.

The goon gave him the motion again, gesturing towards the door. "All right," he agreed. "Let's go then." He walked to the door and through it just behind the green soldier, holding his sanjiegun at the ready. He expected the attack to come right away, but it did not. He looked around, only seeing an empty hallway. He took one step to the left and felt his foot connect with something hard, knocking himself off balance.

Kento looked down to see what he had run into and froze. It was a soldier, identical to the one that stood before him. Or, at least, the armor of one. The gash in its chest told him that whatever strange energy powered these creatures had been released, and thus dissipated. He stared for several long moments, his blood pounding in his ears. He looked up and met the dark gaze of the living soldier. "What's going on here?" he asked. "Is… Ryo? Is that you?"

The soldier shook his head, then turned down the hallway, giving him the "come" motion once again. Confused, Kento obediently followed. The soldier led him through several hallways, all empty. Once, it pulled him into an empty side room and made him wait for several long minutes. "What are we doing here?" Kento had demanded, impatience growing. The soldier had given him a gesture for silence.

Less than a minute after that, Kento heard the sounds of heavy, clanking footfalls. _A patrol_ , he realized in growing amazement. Sweat made his palms feel clammy, even inside his Hardrock armor. It was becoming very clear that this was an escape. But how? Why?

"Dude, if that's Rowen in there, just tell me," he hissed at the soldier as it led him once again down the hallway. The soldier shook its head and continued on, moving rapidly through the hallways.

Finally, they came to a door. The soldier stopped and looked at Kento, then gestured to the door. Kento gave the soldier a long look, then reached out and pushed open the door. He was greeted by the kiss of chilly night air. Kento looked at the goon, who gestured towards the door. Kento nodded, shifted his staff to his left hand, took a step forward slowly, then whirled and slammed into the soldier, knocking it back into the wall. Kento's right arm was already against the soldier's throat – or, well, where it should be – pinning it into the wall.

"What's really going on here?" he hissed, eyes narrowed. "Talpa's goons don't think. They don't have souls. So what are you?" Letting his weapon lean against his body for a moment, he whipped out his left arm and yanked at the helmet of the soldier, pulling it off.

Brown hair tumbled free, cascading in a tangled mass to the green shoulders of the armor. "You!" Kento yelped, pushing his arm deeper into Dani's throat. "What the hell is this?"

"Don't!" Dani choked out, breath coming ragged with his armored arm on her windpipe.

"You killed my father," Kento hissed flatly, anger flaring. "You nearly killed Rowen." He pressed her a little more, feeling a satisfying joy as her face began to drain of color.

She shook her head slightly, fighting for air. "Never," she rasped out.

It was her eyes that took Kento off his guard for moment. To his surprise, he saw deep emotion where he envisioned hatred and evil to live. Her eyes weren't flat and cruel. Rather, they glimmered with some kind of pain and sorrow. He pulled back a little bit, allowing the girl to breathe.

"What are you talking about?"

"I had nothing to do with your father. I didn't know. Kento, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Her voice was hoarse and ragged, a result of him nearly crushing her throat. Kento stared at her, uncomprehending. Her eyes shone with unshed tears.

"That's a lie," he said, though wasn't sure if he believed himself. "How could you not know?"

"I didn't know," she repeated, shaking her head. "I would never…" she paused and took a breath. "I'm sorry."

"Even if that's true, you still tried to kill Rowen." At the memory, he pushed a little harder into her.

"I didn't," she croaked. "I let Cye save him."

Kento let out a barking laugh that echoed in the passageway. "Rii-ight," he said, "you expect me to believe that?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"What's the plan here? Is there a giant army waiting for me outside?" he demanded. "What's the point?"

"No army," she answered with another small shake of her head. "Not for you, at least. They're amassing to take down your friends. They're hiding outside. I don't think they know they've been discovered yet."

Kento's brow furrowed. "So, what? You want me to lead them to the army? Because that's not going to happen."

"No!" she hissed in exasperation. "I want you to go and warn them and get out!"

He stared at her for a long moment, pulling back from her throat once again.

"I don't understand."

Somehow, she found the audacity to roll her eyes. "You. Get out. Go to your friends. Escape army. Fight another day. Get it now?" She glanced down the hall. "And better do it quick There's another patrol in a few minutes."

Dammit, she was good. He almost believed her.

"Your precious Talpa is fine with you just letting me go, then?"

"God, you idiot, of course not! Just get the hell out of here!"

"So, what, you're on our side again now?"

"No."

Kento was taken aback. He expected her to claim to be on their side and beg forgiveness. "No?" he repeated blankly. "Then what's this about?"

"I'm not on your side. But I'm not on Talpa's, either. I'm on my own side." Her face set in determination, as if daring him to challenge her. "And I want you to be free."

"So, what, you don't want Talpa to take over, but you don't want him to leave, either?"

"No, I want him to leave. I'm working on my own to fix that."

"So… You're on our side."

"No!" She looked angry. "You guys made it very clear that you didn't want me on your team. So here I am. Not on your team." She almost spat the words.

"The hell are you talking about?"

Dani rolled her eyes and looked away from him. "Look, you really need to go."

Kento couldn't help it. Though a part of him still thought he might be a trick, he found that he believed her. He dropped his arm and stepped back, releasing her from the hall. She eyed him and took a step away, reaching a hand up to her quickly darkening throat.

"I still don't understand," he said, fixing his gaze on her. "What do you mean we didn't want you around? Do you know how long we looked for you? Do you know how much grief you put us through when you just disappeared?" He felt his temper flare at the memory.

"What are you _talking_ about?" she demanded. "You guys are the ones who left me here!" Her voice sounded bitter. "Don't get me wrong, I get it, I get why, but your friends haven't left you. You wouldn't leave them. You just didn't have room for another."

He stared at her, but she looked pointedly away, refusing to meet his gaze. "Dani…" he frowned. "I don't understand. We never left you. You left us. You just ran off after that big battle. You didn't see us running after you? You didn't hear us yelling your name? We were trying to fight our way to find you, but we saw you escaping the fortress, so we went after you."

Dani turned her gaze to his, and he saw the confusion written in her face. "I never escaped the fortress. Talpa…" she swallowed. "Talpa showed me the five of you escaping and running away. I was with him when it happened."

The two stared at each other, and realization dawned on their faces at almost the same moment. "Dais," Kento hissed, his eyes narrowing. He looked to Dani. "Dani, we never would have left you if we'd known. Never!" He shook his head. "Just wait until the others find out."

"No!" Dani shook her head furiously. "You can't tell them!"

"Uh, why not?" Kento demanded. "They need to know!"

"Because! If Anubis or the others see them not attacking me fully, see them holding back, they'll figure it out. They already suspect me. They can't know. They'll blow my cover."

"But you're coming with me," Kento said.

Dani only shook her head. "No, I'm working from the inside. It's the only way." She grabbed his arm. "Kento, you can't tell them."

"But…" Kento tried to think of an argument, but came up with nothing. Though he didn't like it, he couldn't argue with her logic. In his head, he thought of his green-armored friend and felt a pang.

A sound up the hallway made them freeze. "Go," Dani hissed, pushing him towards the door, all business.

"What about you?"

She shook her head. "Don't worry about me. Just go! Now!" She ushered him through the door and began to close it behind him. "Remember, you can't say _anything_." Before he could open his mouth to reply, the door shut tightly behind him, leaving him alone in the abandoned city street.


	22. Fear and Bravery

Author's Note: I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update. Life has gotten pretty busy and stressful.

Thanks for the reviews you left! Those reminders that I had readers are what encouraged me to keep going.

* * *

Kento stood in the middle of the street, shell-shocked. The fortress, dark and ominous, loomed at his back. He knew he needed to move – and move _fast_ , but recent events had him at a loss. As he stood in the overly silent street, free of any of the car horns or late night pedestrians that once occupied it, he tried to sort out his conflicting feelings.

He _believed_ her. She had, after all, set him free. While a part of him knew it could be a trick, he couldn't see the purpose of it. If Talpa wanted her to act as a double agent, then, well, she'd already been set up to do that before. However, his old feelings of anger and betrayal weren't so easily erased. Grief at his father's loss still coursed through him, and a part of him still blamed the wearer of the Armor of the Tempest.

A far off sound shook Kento from his reverie. He looked around quickly. "I really gotta go," he whispered to himself. He sprinted off to the left, trying to keep his armored feet as quiet as possible on the paved ground. If Dani had been telling the truth, he would need to find his friends and get them out of danger. He took off at a quick jog, moving away from the castle.

He didn't get far. He didn't expect to.

The sound of shattering glass rang above him, shards flying outwards to crash onto the street. Along with them came an armored figure, leaping from the tenth story of a building to land on the pavement, one knee bent to the ground to absorb the impact.

The wearer of the Armor of the Strata straightened without missing a beat. "Kento?" Rowen demanded, sprinting over. "What the hell, Kento?! Where have you been? We thought you were captured!"

Kento slapped Rowen on the back and gave a toothy grin. "I was."

"But… what?" Rowen looked at him with disbelief.

"C'mon, dude, let's get the others. We gotta move fast."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Aw, don't ask so many questions!" Rowen shook his head, clearly confused, but did as Kento wanted. Together, the friends sprinted around the perimeter of the fortress. The others were easy to find, appearing much as Rowen had. Clearly, the Ronin Warriors had been on guard.

"Kento, dammit." Ryo was the first one they found. His warm voice portrayed anger, annoyance, and intense relief all at once. "Where-"

"Captured. Escaped. Let's go," Kento said, cutting him off. As much as he wanted to chat, Dani's warning had given birth to a fear in his chest, which was quickly blooming.

Cye was next. "What, Kento, did you go out for doughnuts? Kinda bad timing."

Finally, Sage. Sage's reaction upon seeing Kento, alive and free, was the strongest. "Kento!" he jumped out the window as Rowen and Ryo had, Cye having been the only one to exit through a door. His face was a mask of confusion and rage. "Kento! You ass! We thought you were taken! We thought…" he trailed off, seeing Kento's unusually serious look.

"I'm sorry, Sage," Kento said quietly. Ryo, Cye, and Rowen looked at him in surprise. Kento's mannerisms had suddenly changed when Sage appeared, becoming more grim and withdrawn.

Sage looked a little bit taken aback. Kento was not one to apologize. His anger faded. "Where were you?"

"You guys were right. I got myself captured." Kento's mind turned to his father, and he felt all of the misery from the last day rush back. "I'll explain everything, but right now we need to go. There's an army getting ready to come after us."

"How do you know?" Ryo asked.

"I just do. Let's go!" Kento forced his legs to move, one in front of the other, putting distance between himself and the fortress. His friends fell into easy step beside him. As his feet pounded the ground, his father's face flashed in his mind – one second laughing, smiling, and full of the life, the next pale, cold, and still. He tried to push the image away, to put it into a box until he could take the time to mourn, but the pictures stayed with him.

* * *

Dani had barely had time to stash the stolen green armor when the alarm sounded. She sprinted towards the training arena where the army was amassing, nearly slamming into Cale as he ran the opposite way. "Cale, what's going on?" she demanded, putting on an authoritative voice. "Did the Ronin attack?"

"No," he snapped, glaring at her. "Apparently, your little prisoner escaped." Cale, Sekhmet, and Dais had made it back to the fortress after Anubis and Dani had returned with Kento, and they were none too pleased. Having been beaten and returning empty handed, Talpa's wrath had evidently been great.

"What?!" Dani demanded, letting as much shock and anger flow into her voice as she could muster. "How?"

"No idea, but he and the others were spotted outside. We just lost our chance to attack." He gave her a sly grin. "I'm sure Talpa won't be too happy about this, will he?"

"I imagine he won't," Dani snapped back. "What do we do now?"

"Talpa wants to see all humans. I'm going to collect the slaves now." He glanced her up and down. "I have no doubt that Talpa will be able to see _exactly_ who betrayed us."

Dani felt ice creeping down her spine as doubt entered. She had planned to release Kento, act as if he had escaped on his own, and then continue working for Talpa. What if that wasn't a possibility? _It's not too late,_ a thought whispered in her mind. You can still escape. Leave. Leave right now.

"Cale. Daniella." The cold voice cut through her thoughts. The two Warlords turned to see Dais standing near them, face set into a scowl. "Talpa is not in a patient disposition right now. What's taking so long?"

Cale nodded, shooting an annoyed glare at Dani. "I'm collecting the servants now."

"Fine," grunted Dais. He shot a filthy look at Dani. "Let's go. Now."

For a heartbeat, Dani stood frozen in indecision. She looked at Cale, then at Dais. She could run. She could take them.

Of course, thousands of soldiers were gathered in the arena only a few dozen yards away. Anubis and Sekhmet wouldn't be far away, either. She couldn't fight her way through all of them. Not even if she had the help of the Ronin Warriors.

Dani made up her mind and steeled herself. "Don't dally, Cale," she snapped haughtily and brushed past Dais, moving towards Talpa's inner sanctum.

* * *

The five Warlords stood arrayed in line, the twin candles casting flickering shadows around them. Before them, the head of Talpa loomed, his twisted sneer exuding more rage than ever before. Behind the row of Warlords, eight human servants cowered.

 **"Explain this,"** Talpa demanded. " **How did Kento of Hardrock escape?"**

"I assure you, master," Anubis answered quickly, his voice oily, "There is no way that Hardrock could have escaped. I procured and tested the restraints on my own. I took his weapon. When I checked the room after his escape, the chains were unbroken. He had help." Anubis turned and glared at each of the Warlords in turn, landing on Dani for several seconds longer than the others.

Talpa's eyes filled with an orange glow. Dani felt a sudden bright flash of pain across her chest, as if an invisible sword cut deeply into her flesh. She let out a cry at the pain, slipping to her knees. The pain only intensified as she felt a thousand cuts flash all over body, leaving nothing intact, cutting every last inch of her. She felt every last square inch of her body being slashed, the skin laid open to the bone, parting flesh and muscle. An almost animal scream was ripped from her throat at the unbearable agony. Around her, she heard other screams, but brain was unable to think, unable to focus, on anything except the pain. Why wasn't she dead yet? She wanted nothing but the release of death.

Then, suddenly, the pain left as if it had never come. Dani found herself laying on the floor, panting heavily. She looked down at her body, expecting to see a mass of bloody pulp – but found it entirely intact. She cautiously climbed to her feet, only to see the other four Warlords doing the same. Their faces were reddened, eyes watery and bloodshot, hair askew. She realized she must look no better. It was true, then – Talpa's punishments were to be feared. She felt only coldness in her body as her heart worked overtime, driven by the rush of adrenaline. If he could do this to all five of them without a thought, what chance did the Ronin Warriors have?

 **"I don't want excuses,"** Talpa said coldly, acting as if he had not just inflicted immense pain upon his servants. "You should have been on guard yourself. Nobody should have been able to release our prisoner."

Anubis took a second to collect himself, even reaching up to smooth his dark hair. "I believe we were betrayed, master. He had to have had help. From the inside."

 **"Who?"**

"Someone who is against us. Someone who wants to Ronin to win. A double agent." Anubis turned his body to look at the Tempest warrior. "It seems we have a traitor in our midst."

Dani's body turned to ice as all the eyes in the room fixated on her. "Surely, you aren't implying that I-"

"I'm not implying anything," Anubis snapped. "Who else?"

"I-"

" _You_ are the one who was living with the Ronin. _You_ are the one who has squandered every opportunity to squash them like bugs. _You_ are the one who took down Hardrock… but you refused to kill him when you had the chance." Anubis took a step towards her, shoulders drawn up tightly in rage, his hands bunching into fists.

"I've been fighting the Ronin for half the time you have, and I've already been more successful," Dani snapped. "You haven't killed a single one, but you're coming at me like I'm a traitor because I haven't yet. What are you trying to hide?"

Anubis threw a punch at her face, which she ducked to avoid. However, she did not see the other hand already moving in anticipation of her dodge. It connected with her cheekbone. She felt the _crack_ that followed through her entire body as her face exploded with pain. She stumbled backwards, raising a hand to the fire in her cheek, but managed to keep her feet.

The Dark Warlord of Cruelty stood before her. "You betrayed us," he hissed, eyes narrowed. "Talpa, master," he declared loudly as he turned to face the metallic visage, "There is no doubt in my mind that this is the one who aided Kento of Hardrock."

"I had nothing to do with that," Dani declared firmly, heart pounding against her ribcage. Her mind was racing – was there any way she could get out of this one? Anubis whirled back to her.

"You kept asking all those questions about those chains," he snapped. "You acted as if you were opposed to me killing the boy's father. You've been against us from the start!"

"I-"

"I did it." The voice came from behind them, thin and terrified. Anubis, Dani, and the other three Warlords all turned in shock to see the servants, forgotten, standing trembling behind them. It was clear who had spoken, as the other servants were recoiling away from her, as if they could avoid the gaze of Talpa.

Reya. The beautiful girl stood with her head held high, gazing firmly forward. "I did it," she repeated, her voice stronger this time.

"You?" Cale asked incredulously. He stared at the girl as if he had never seen her before.

"Yes. I did it." The girl avoided Dani's searching look, turning her eyes directly to Talpa. "I wanted the Ronin to save the city. I wanted my people to be free."

The other servants backed even farther away from her. Doctor Handa, closest to Reya's left side, was trembling as he stepped away, staring at the ground. He looked as if he wanted to melt into the floor.

Dani could only stare at Reya in shock. The girl was lying. Why? Why would she claim to have rescued Kento, when she clearly had not?

Reya's eyes darted to Dani, almost as if she could hear her thoughts, then away again. Somehow, from that short glance, Dani understood. It made her want to scream and rage, but she understood.

Anubis stared long and hard at the human girl, his face showing disappointment. "Well, then," he said, the words almost eerie in their softness. He took three steps forward, grabbed the girl by the shoulders, and threw her harshly to the ground. He was wearing only his subarmor and had no weapon, but did not need one.

He picked up his foot and slammed it into the girl's head. It only took one hit for the crunch of the skull to sound around them, but Anubis did not stop. He smashed his foot down again, again, and again. His armored foot was covered in red, flecks of pink tissue attaching as well. The blood and gray matter covered her head, oozing to the ground. The girl's face – once gorgeous – was nothing but a smashed, pulpy lump covered in matted hair.

Finally, Anubis stopped. One of the servant girls cried softly, but the one nearest her – a blonde girl – quickly covered the other girl's mouth with her hands, sending a furtive glance around to see if the Warlords were coming their way. Dani stood frozen, wanting to scream, throw up, or attack Anubis – or probably all three. She held her breath, unmoving. She hated herself for not doing anything to avenge Reya, but knew that if she betrayed herself now, the girl's sacrifice would have been meaningless.

Reya let herself be killed so that Dani would live on. She had realized, it seemed, that Dani was on the city's side. Dani would not – could not – let that sacrifice be in vain.

Anubis shot a hate-filled glare at Dani. "It seems you were not the traitor, Daniella," he hissed. He turned and faced the other servants. "Does anybody else want the Ronin Warriors to win?" he demanded, taking a step towards them. He left a footprint of blood in his wake. "Anybody else brave enough to try to help those scum?" The servants all shook their head, even the crying girl, who still had tears streaking from her eyes. He turned away from them in disgust and looked back to Talpa.

 **"Attack the Ronin filth,"** Talpa ordered **. "Fix this mistake. If you come back without a Ronin head…"** There was a moment of silence. **"You have not experienced the full extent of my wrath yet."** Talpa's voice seemed almost pleased with himself at these words, as if he relished the idea of inflicting pain. **"Now go! Get out of my sight!"**

The servants took this opportunity to sprint from the room, nearly stumbling over themselves in their eagerness to escape. The Warlords followed, spines straight. Behind them, the body of Reya still splayed on the floor, unmoving, the candles flickering around her.


	23. Uneasy Minds

The five friends ran for several miles, then ducked inside of a department store. They had decided unanimously not to return to their latest abode in the event they were being followed. The lights in the department store still glowed, though many bulbs had burned out. Even the lights on the cash registers were lit, as if just waiting for a cashier to walk up and begin a long shift. The only clue that the store had been abandoned was the thin layer of dust on every surface.

"So, what's next?" Rowen asked, looking around at his comrades. "If Kento's right, there's an army getting ready to come at us. We gonna hide or fight?"

"Fight, of course," Sage said automatically, rubbing his hands together.

"I don't know," Kento said doubtfully. "We might need to chill out."

Four pairs of eyes swiveled to look at him in shock. "Are you serious?" Cye spluttered in surprise. "You? Kento of Hardrock? Wanting to sit out a battle?"

Kento shrugged, not making eye contact. "I just think… We just might need some time to regroup, ya know?"

"Hold on," Rowen said imperiously. He made a show of looking around at the group. "Let's see. One, two, three, four…" he pointed at each warrior in turn, then directed the finger at himself. "And I make five. Last I checked, that's all of us. What do we need to regroup for?"

"Come on, Rowen, "Ryo interjected. "Kento just spent the night in the fortress. He needs some time to rest."

Rowen looked abashed. "You're right. Sorry, Kento."

"Oh," Kento said, unsure. "No, I mean… Well. It's okay."

Cye looked around. "I guess here is as good a place as any to take a rest, huh?"

"I am pretty tired," Sage said with a quick glance at Kento.

Ryo nodded. "Yes. Let's hide out for a bit, then go from there." Together, the friends moved to the back of the store. They raided the bedding section, ripping apart plastic to open blankets and pillows. They settled down in the corner farthest from the entrance, each warrior creating his own makeshift "bed."

"So, Kento, did you find out anything?" Sage asked abruptly. "See anything important, other than the army?"

Kento paused for a few seconds too long, very aware of his fellow warriors all looking at him. "Um, not really," he said with an overly forced shrug.

"Too bad," Cye said with a small disappointed shake. "We sure are glad you got out, though."

"How did they get you, anyway?" Ryo asked bluntly. "I mean… who got you?" With this uncomfortable question, the tension in the air increased. Kento saw Cye give Sage a sidelong glance and noted that the Halo warrior was intently studying a display of dinner ware.

"Anubis," Kento responded automatically, thinking of the Warlord he had been sparring in that fateful battle.

"Was it… _Just_ Anubis?" Ryo pressed on brazenly.

"Yes," Kento said with a firm nod. "Just Anubis." He looked around at each of his companions, who each wore an expression that showed varying levels of doubt or confusion. "I let my guard down," he admitted. "I'm sorry, guys. It was my fault." It was true – he had let anger control him. It just hadn't been Anubis who knocked him out.

A long moment of silence passed. Kento could still feel tenseness in the air between him and his friends. "It's okay," he assured them, looking around. "Ask whatever you want."

"What did they do to you?" Rowen asked automatically.

 _Wrong question._ The face of his father once again flashed in his mind's eye, followed by the image of his mother screaming. "You know," Kento said quietly without making eye contact. He wasn't ready to talk about it. "Standard torture."

"Did you see… her?" This query came from Cye.

Another long pause. Too long. Kento hated lying to his friends. He thought of Dani unlocking his chains, leading him through the halls of the fortress, and of her final plea. He looked towards Sage again as the silence stretched, wrestling with himself. He wanted to tell them that they hadn't truly been betrayed, not completely. He wanted to blurt it out right then and there.

But he couldn't. Because he knew that Dani had been right. His stupidly loyal friends would blow her cover the second they got into a match, and that was only if they _didn't_ go marching into Talpa's domain right away, punching everyone in sight and demanding she return with them immediately.

 _Yes_ , Kento realized regretfully, _She was right. I can't tell them._

"No," he said at long last. He could tell, however, that the seconds of silence had been too long. He saw his friends giving one another quick, confused glances, and knew, without a doubt, that they recognized that he was lying.

"Oh," Cye said doubtfully. "Okay."

"Tell us how you escaped," Ryo interjected, cutting through the awkwardness.

Kento forced a cocky grin. "Me versus Talpa's twerps. I win."

Rowen gave a laugh and slapped Kento on the back. "Of course," he said warmly, grinning at him. "Those twerps didn't stand a chance."

Ryo smiled as well. "We're glad you're back. Let's get some rest." The Ronin all clambered into their blankets. Exhausted from his experiences, it only took moments for Kento's snoring to start.

The other four laid there quietly, listening to their friend's familiar snoring. "He's lying to us," Sage whispered finally, eyes on the ceiling.

"Are we sure it's really him?" Rowen answered, voice so low it was barely audible.

"It's him," Ryo answered. "I can kind of… sense it. When I focus. Wildfire thing."

"Any chance he's been brainwashed and released on purpose?" Cye asked. The question hung in the air.

"Can Talpa do that?" Rowen asked doubtfully. "That'd be new. And terrifying."

There was a long pause as the friends contemplated that possibility.

"He doesn't really _seem_ brainwashed," Sage put in, mulling over Kento's behavior over the last hour. "I mean, he seems… subdued, and he's definitely hiding something, but if he was brainwashed wouldn't he be all zombie-like?"

"This isn't a cartoon, Sage," Rowen responded dryly. "His eyes aren't going to spin around in little black lines."

"I know that," Sage said in exasperation, raising his voice a hair above a whisper. "I would just think a brainwashed person would be a little different."

Kento gave a snort and rolled over, which made them all freeze. Soon, though, his snoring resumed.

"Let's take this outside," Ryo said. As quietly as possible, the four wakeful Ronin climbed to their feet and crept away. Rather than actually going outside, they went into the clothing department. The clothes still hung neatly on hangers, though dust had begun to accrue.

"So, what do we think is going on?" Cye asked when they stopped moving.

Sage looked at each of his friends, a growing dread in his heart. This – secret meetings, whispered suspicions – felt all-too familiar.

"We should give him the benefit of the doubt," Rowen put in. "I mean, he hasn't actually done anything wrong. He's still Kento."

"What else can we do?" Sage questioned. "Throw him out? Rowen's right. Brainwashed or not, he's Kento, and we aren't going to murder him. We just have to watch him. Be careful around him until we figure out what's going on."

Ryo nodded in agreement. "You're right." He paused. "But it won't hurt to keep a watch tonight. On the off chance he is, somehow, brainwashed" Ryo grimaced at the word, "we'd better not leave ourselves open for slaughtering."

The others all nodded. "I'll take first watch," Sage said. The four moved back to their ersatz home, each edging their blankets a little farther away from where Kento snored on. Sage sat on the floor, his legs stretched out in front of him, back leaning against a tower of boxed toasters. He watched Kento's chest rise and fall as he slept. _I won't lose you, too,_ Sage thought fiercely.

When Sage's eyelids began to droop and he could fight through it no longer, he shook Cye awake and collapsed into his pile of blankets, asleep almost immediately.

* * *

Sage was next awakened by the sound of an airplane.

Or so he thought.

"Sorry," Kento said, looking sheepishly around at his friends, who were all sitting up quickly. Ryo had already jumped into a defensive posture, knees bent and fists out. Hardrock put a hand on his stomach. "It's kind of been awhile since I ate."

Rowen let out a guffaw, his body relaxing. He had clearly been on watch, standing several feet away and holding a display coffee maker like a weapon. "Yeah, it's been awhile for all of us." He sat the coffee maker back on the shelf.

"Let's go find some food, then," Ryo said, smiling. Together, the warriors abandoned their blankets and walked quietly to the entrance of the store, listening intently for any unusual sounds – such as that of an army of otherworldly demons coming after them.

"Coast seems clear," Cye said, peering out the glass doors.

Kento clapped his hands together and rubbed them excitedly. "Food time!"

Fortunately for the Ronin, a convenience store was nearby. The power was out in this building, thanks to a felled line, but they were able to make do with the shelf-stable food. They sat in the circle on the floor, munching on Power Bars and Little Debbie snack cakes. The friends didn't speak, eating in companionable silence. Kento managed to eat eight Power Bars, six packages of snack cakes, a honey bun, and most of a family size bag of Doritos before he finally began to slow down.

"Guess the food wasn't so great in the fortress, eh?" Cye asked, smiling warmly at his friend.

"Nah, not enough seasoning," Kento said, pouring the cheesy crumbs from the bag of chips into his mouth. "Tasted too much like evil and misery."

"Ah, yes, I hate it when food tastes like that," Rowen said dryly. "I much prefer when it tastes like kittens and rainbows."

Four pairs of horrified eyes turned to fix on Rowen.

"The love of kittens, I mean," Strata corrected hurriedly. "Not actual kittens."

Sage laughed, finding himself relaxing as he looked around at his friends. The Hardrock warrior certainly _seemed_ like the real Kento. The fears of last night seemed far away now, the delusions of terrified teenagers.

"So," Ryo said, suddenly serious. "Now what?" He glanced around the circle, ignoring the piles of littered wrappers. "Do we attack or hide out?"

"Attack," Kento said without a moment's hesitation.

"Are you sure?" Cye asked carefully. "Are you… fully recovered?"

"Yeah," Kento said with a nod. "And I've got a bone to pick with Anubis." If Sage hadn't been looking directly at Kento when he spoke those words, he may have missed the expression that crossed Hardrock's face. His eyes darkened, jaw tightened, and lip curled when he spoke the Warlord's name. It was a face that showed deep-seated anger and pain.

Sage felt taken aback. Kento truly had the heart of a warrior, more so than any of them. He knew that being captured would injure Kento's pride, but this was something different.

"What really happened, Kento?" Sage asked suddenly in a quiet tone. All of his armored friends turned to face him, then Cye, Ryo, and Rowen turned their inquisitive looks towards Kento.

Kento frowned, his eyes sad. "I…" he swallowed, as if he had a sudden lump in his throat. "I'll tell you guys. Promise. I just… I don't want to talk about it yet."

Before his friends could press him, Kento stood up suddenly, brushing chip crumbs off of his subarmor. "Let's go do this," he said before abruptly turning and tramping out of the convenience store.

"Out of curiosity, do we still think he's a Talpa zombie?" Cye asked as he watched Hardrock go.

"I have no idea," Rowen responded. "He seems like Kento, but he's not telling us something."

"Yeah…" Ryo trailed off, unsure of what else there was to be said. "Well, let's go make sure he doesn't get himself killed."

The four Ronin followed after Kento, who was waiting impatiently in the streets. As soon as they caught up to him, he nodded in the general direction of the Talpa's fortress.

"Time to find that army."

* * *

Dani walked in tandem with the other four Warlords, trying to conceal her trembling. Not from fear, but rather from white-hot rage. She kept seeing not just Reya's crushed skull, but also the blood of Kento's father spreading on the ground. And here she was, walking next to the man responsible for those horrors, pretending to be on his side. She felt consumed with hatred for Anubis, but had to force herself to continue the charade. If she let her cover slip, even for a moment, she knew that he would have no qualms adding her blood to his hands.

She certainly didn't want to die, but she had to stay alive for other reasons. She had to live to save this city.

Behind the Warlords, Talpa's army stretched. The soldiers looked like a sea of green, stretching back at least as far as Dani could see. AThe soldiers marched in perfect unison, sending a reverberating beat through the heart of the city. Glass rattled and cars vibrated to the incessant, unerring tempo of the soldiers. It gave Dani – the true Dani, who ached to save the city – chills to hear it. However, she continued to hold up her hard, flippant mask.

"How will we find them?" Sekhmet demanded, turning to look at Anubis. Anubis gave Sekhmet a scathing look.

"It's like you have never fought these idiots before," Anubis scowled. "We don't have to find them. They will find us."

"We're hard to miss," Dais added with a grin. "We'll have them this time."

"If we don't, then Talpa will have us," Cale put in. Dani thought she heard the faintest of quivers in the Warlords voice, and could not blame him in the slightest. Talpa's earlier punishment was an experience she never, ever wanted to repeat. She couldn't imagine what would happen if they failed again.

 _This is it,_ she realized suddenly and with great trepidation. _I can't keep faking._ She glanced over her shoulder and felt her stomach clench as she surveyed the army. If the Ronin Warriors were not defeated today, she and the Warlords may not survive. At the very least, she would be in for the punishment of the millennium. If they did destroy the Ronin, then her position was safe, but the city would lose its primary defenders.

 _I'm screwed._

"And here they are," came Anubis' smug voice. "Coming like lambs for the slaughter." Dani turned her gaze forward and squinted, peering through the morning fog. Sure enough, she could see five glints of color coming their way. Pale blue, red, orange, deep blue, and green.

Dani felt her heart pounding in her chest as the two opposing sides paced towards each other, neither hurrying, accompanied by the pounding of countless feet. They'd done this just the day before, but so much had happened. So much had changed. Now, an army stretched behind the Warlords, Kento had suffered, and Talpa had laid out an ultimatum. Now, Reya was dead to protect Dani. Now, Anubis had already declared they she was untrustworthy. Everything was hinged on this battle – the battle for Toyama.

As the two sides neared, she couldn't help but search the faces of the Ronin. She started with Torrent, moving down the line of fully armored warriors and trying to make out expressions behind their masks. Had Kento betrayed her secret? Cye was looking past her, surveying the army with a dismayed expression. Ryo's eyes were flickering all around, looking as if he was casing the area. Kento's dark eyes were fixed unflinchingly on Anubis, Rowen was glancing at Kento, and Sage…

For a second, she forgot to breathe. Sage was staring straight back at her, meeting her gaze. Her heart fluttered in her chest. He knew! Kento had spilled the beans, and Sage _knew_. As they stepped still closer, though, she saw the hate in the hard lines of his face. She felt a hope she didn't realize she possessed draining from her. Until that moment, Dani hadn't realized how much she wanted Sage to know that she had not betrayed him, though she logically knew it was best if he didn't. She felt as if someone had cold fingers wrapped around her heart, squeezing as hard as they could.

Anubis raised a fist into the air and the army behind them stopped as one, the last beat of the marching echoing in a suddenly silent city street. The Ronin Warriors stopped about ten yards away, with Hardrock still glaring fiercely at Anubis.

"Here we are again," Anubis called out, his voice traveling far in the empty air. "Hardrock, I'm surprised to see you here. Thought you'd still be mourning."

Dani saw Kento's fists clench, but he otherwise did not react. The other four Ronin turned their heads to look at Kento, but she could not make out their expressions through the sides of their helmets.

"I am going to kill you," Kento said tightly, his voice barely loud enough to cover the distance between them. "And I am going to enjoy every single drawn-out moment of it."

"Good luck trying." Anubis raised his fist into the air once more. It hovered there for several heartbeats, and Dani could swear it was as if the city held its breath.

Anubis lowered his entire arm, a swift chopping motion towards the five warriors.

The army attacked.


	24. The Battle for Toyama

The soldiers swarmed around Dani and the other Warlords, who stood unmoving, preferring to let the soldiers take the first hit. Within seconds, the stampeding warriors, shaking the ground around her, filled her vision and obscured her view of the Ronin. She heard, rather than saw, the impact, hearing the clash of weapons and clatter of armor. The Warlords waited as the first wave of soldiers gradually thinned, allowing them brief glimpses of bright colors, flashing weapons, and piles of smoking green armor.

"Time for the second wave," Sekhmet grunted to Anubis, who shot him a disparaging glare. Anubis did raise his arm, however, and repeat the chopping motion towards the Ronin. Immediately, the second wave of the attack rushed past them, making the air swirl around Dani. She knew, watching them, that they were going to their deaths.

"It's time," Anubis finally declared when the second wave had been half destroyed, their armor littering the street. Almost as one, the five Warlords stalked towards the epicenter of the battle. Soldiers moved quickly out of their way, allowing them to pass easily. Dais stepped directly on top of the chest plate of a fallen warrior, not even glancing down.

As they approached, the battle came to pause, soldiers falling back to allow them access. The five Ronin stood, panting, in the middle of the street, surrounded by their defeated foes. The soldiers had begun to pile up, some laying as many as five deep. Dani surveyed them quickly, checking their damage. She was very relieved to see that most of their wounds seemed shallow, though their armors were covered in nicks. Each Ronin was glaring fiercely at the Warlords, their weapons at the ready.

"Going to run again?" Ryo asked, his twin katana crossed before him in a ready stance.

"Oh, I fear we are not the ones who should run," Anubis said with a beatific smile.

Dani slid a glance towards Sage, unable to stop herself. Once again, he was giving her a filthy, hate-filled look that made her insides churn. She looked away quickly.

Kento let out a scream of rage and sprinted towards Anubis, his staff held high. Anubis laughed as he blocked Kento's attack, shoving the Hardrock warrior away.

"Not holding a grudge, are we, Hardrock?" He snickered. "What would Daddy say?" Kento screamed again, lashing out with all of his might. Anubis easily batted away the attack.

"Attack!" Anubis cried, not peeling his eyes from Kento for a moment.

Dani felt her body moving almost against her will, everything around her a blur. She ran forward, her sword held high, a squad of green-clad legionnaires around her. Cye stood before her, the point of his trident flashing in the light of the morning sun.

It was difficult to give the impression of fighting without dealing out any lasting damage. She landed a few good hits to his chest and legs, but held back from anything that would debilitate him. Once, she saw one of her squadrons sending its sword towards Cye's neck and had to take a quick step back, allow Cye's trident to crash into her stomach, and fall back for a split second to allow him time to parry the blade and send the tips of his weapons crashing through the trooper's chest.

Dani swung her sword in a swift uppercut towards Cye's shoulder, then froze when she realize his attention was diverted. She dropped her blade and followed his gaze. Kento and Anubis were locked together, staff meeting scythe in a blur.

"Your father was weak," Anubis gloated, his smile unwavering. "Your mother is just as weak. They didn't even fight. Maybe, after I finish you, I'll pay a visit to your mother in the Netherworld."

Kento let out a nearly inhuman scream, her staff flashing towards Anubis again. Just as when Dani had fought him – had it just been yesterday? – Kento's fury was getting the better of him, causing him to drop his technique. Anubis brushed the blow away and whirled his weight in a circle, preparing for an attack. Before Dani could move, Cye was sprinted away. He tackled Kento as Anubis' weight flew, flying with tons of force into the space that Kento had just been occupying.

"Move," Dani could hear Cye crying over the din of battle, rolling to his feet and shoving Kento away. The orange-armored warrior obeyed with stilted motions, turning to shoot a hateful look towards Anubis.

The other three Ronin Warriors gathered around them, their backs to Kento and weapons pointing out, backing away from the battle.

"Run, then!" Sekhmet screamed after them. "We aren't going anywhere!" Dani saw Ryo pushing Kento as they sprinted away and leaped up a building, retreating from the battle.

* * *

"What the hell was he talking about, Kento?" Ryo demanded, whirling on Hardrock when they were a mile away, having leapt over the roofs of buildings. They stood atop a smarmy apartment building, surrounded by an overgrown rooftop garden. "What was he talking about?"

Kento slid to the ground, burying his face in his hands. "They killed my father."

"Wh- What?" Rowen demanded. "How? Why? When?"

"In the castle. They wanted information. I- I gave it to them. But they killed him anyway." Kento's voice, already muffled, was barely above a whisper.

"Oh, Kento," Cye breathed. "I am so, so sorry." He knelt by Kento, putting a delicate hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Why didn't you –" Ryo began, but Sage shot him a dirty look. He quickly fell silent, abashed.

"I just didn't want to talk about it," Kento said, standing quickly and brushing Cye's comforting hand away. "It's… It's over." He took in a deep breath, then growled out, "I want to destroy him."

Rowen, Cye, Sage, and Ryo glanced at one another. They had just witnessed Kento's furious battle with Anubis, and it was clear that Anubis was taunting Kento into overextended attacks.

"Maybe you should let one of us handle Anubis," Sage offered.

"No," Kento snapped, whipping his head around to glare at Sage. "That bitch is mine."

* * *

"Split up," Anubis ordered, surveying his fellow Warlords. "Find them."

"Shouldn't we stick together?" Cale ventured, earning himself a condescending look from the Warlord of Cruelty.

"We're more likely to draw them out of hiding if we split up," Anubis said. "They won't want to walk up to our army and wave their hands. Each of you take a legion and go in a different direction. When you spot them, give a signal." He nodded to the east. "I'll go this way."

Within minutes, Dani was walking down a street with 1,000 soldiers marching in time behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, sizing up her little army. They marched in perfectly arranged rows of twenty, completely filling the narrow street. After walking for nearly two miles, she called a halt by raising a fist into the air.

"One hundred of you, with me," she ordered, casting her voice to carry over the ranks, "The rest, wait here." She turned and continued on, talking the next left turn, not even glancing over her shoulder to see if her orders were being followed. After putting several blocks in between her and her force, she turned to face the 100 soldiers who had obediently followed her. They stopped when she turned around, regarding her with empty eyes. "Sorry about this," she whispered, then lunged forward with her sword high.

* * *

"Whoa!" Rowen exclaimed from the edge of the roof, spinning around with his eyes wide. "It's… It's Dani! By herself!"

Ryo and Cye quickly moved to the edge as well, though Sage hung back with Kento. "What's she doing?" Cye asked curiously as they watched the purple figure moving far below.

"Dunno," Rowen said, pulling his bow off of his back. "But I do know we aren't going to get a clear shot like this again anytime soon." He took an arrow from his quiver and notched it to his bow, raising it to take aim.

Kento's head popped up, eyes wide. The sudden movement drew Sage's attention, causing Halo to turn to look quizzically at his friend. Without a word, Kento flew to his feet and rushed at Rowen as Strata drew the bow string, inhaling as he took careful aim.

Rowen released the arrow just as Kento barreled into him, sending him sprawling to the cement roof. The arrow flew harmlessly at a wild angle, crashing into the building across the street without even breaking a window.

"Dude!" Rowen yelled angrily, jumping to his feet as both Cye and Ryo jumped into action, grabbing Kento by the arms. "What the hell was that about?"

Kento stood very still, not fighting against Cye and Ryo. "Sorry, Rowen," he said contritely. "I guess I tripped."

"Tripped?!" Ryo asked in disbelief, glancing down at the street below just in time to see the purple figure disappearing around a corner. "You were ten feet away!"

"You jumped up when Rowen was about to shoot," Sage said, his chest suddenly feeling constricted. "Why? Why did you stop him?"

"That was our best chance to get rid of a Warlord!" Cye said from Kento's right, gritting his teeth.

"I… I know. I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't' exactly cut it," Rowen snapped. "Tell us what's going on here."

Kento looked at each of his friends, all of whom were looking back at him suspiciously.

"Okay, okay," he said finally. "I'll tell you."


End file.
